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When Boyle was arrested on Jan. 1 and charged with 15 crimes including assault, sexual assault and unlawful confinement, Trudeau had to answer uncomfortable questions about how such a man ended up in his office. The PM said, “I can tell you that we received full assurances from all our intelligence officials and agencies that the meeting could proceed,” (a highly doubtful claim) and “more than that, you’ll have to talk to the officials involved.”

Boyle, his American wife Caitlin Coleman and the couple’s three children – all of whom were born in captivity and held hostage with their parents – were invited to Trudeau’s historic office on Parliament Hill. There several happy snaps were taken of Trudeau chatting with the Boyles while holding the family’s toddler.

TorSunWP

What makes the meeting truly concerning, though, is that Canadians would likely never have learned about it from the PMO. Had the Boyles not posted the photos on social media, the hush-hush get-together would still be a secret.

Meeting with the couple and their kids was dicey enough.

At best, Boyle took his pregnant wife into hostile territory because has an odd idea of what goes on in Taliban country. At worst, Boyle (who was once married to Omar Khadr’s al Qaeda-friendly sister) is an Islamist sympathizer.

One way or the other, our prime minister shouldn’t be meeting with him.

That’s why I think Trudeau and his staff initially attempted to keep the meet-and-greet quiet. I think Trudeau understood that hosting the Boyles would be politically controversial, so he tried to hold the meeting behind a media curtain.