Article content continued

If this was a problem, Wernick said, Wilson-Raybould should have spoken up

The Liberal defensive lines have fallen back some as this scandal progressed. First, of course, the line was that Wilson-Raybould had not been “directed” — the prime minister himself stuck to that one quite closely for days. It was an odd thing for him to say, as the original Globe and Mail story that kicked this whole affair off had never said the former attorney general was directed, but rather that the Prime Minister’s Office had tried pressuring her. When that non-denial didn’t help, the Liberals shifted gears slightly. Consider Monday’s resignation letter by Gerald Butts, the prime minister’s now-former principal secretary: “I categorically deny the accusation that I or anyone else in (the prime minister’s) office pressured Ms. Wilson-Raybould,” he wrote.

Photo by Adrian Wyld/CP / THE CANADIAN PRESS

How the Liberals reconcile that categorical denial with Wernick’s subsequent admission that he is “sure the minister felt pressure” remains to be seen. But it’s already clear where this whole affair is heading. Unless Wilson-Raybould ultimately says nothing, or suddenly starts offering complete, if belated denials that she was pressured, the Liberals are going to find themselves arguing that this accomplished Indigenous woman simply overreacted when a series of men tried to pressure her into making a decision that was rightfully hers to make — and if she’d been bothered by the pressure, it was her responsibility to take action.

It would be an interesting response. It’s possible that senior Liberals might even believe there is some truth to it. But if that’s the best they’ve got, it will be something to see feminist, progressive Trudeau resorting to “blame her” as his defence against a scandal that continues to bog down his government.