The opposition Conservatives are calling on the Trudeau government to release all documents requested by Mark Norman’s defence and cover the costs of the vice-admiral’s legal representation related to his breach-of-trust case.

However, the Liberals maintain they are complying with a court order to divulge the requested documents, and the decision to have the government pay for attorneys rests with each individual department — in this case, the Department of National Defence.

Conservative House Leader Candice Bergen on Friday moved a motion in the House asking the government to release the documents and pay for Norman’s legal fees, as well as requiring all current and former cabinet ministers, their staffers and Privy Council Office employees to sign an affidavit affirming that no evidence or records related to the vice-admiral’s prosecution were deleted.

Under Treasury Board rules, federal employees in some cases can receive compensation for retaining outside legal representation. Bergen said it was inappropriate for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and others in his office that retained outside legal representation to have had those costs covered by the government, while Norman was denied.

“It’s shameful to watch,” she argued in the House on Friday.

The Liberals have vigorously denied any allegations of inappropriately intervening in the process to determine who received federal funds for legal representation.

“The rules for counsel in all cases are set by the department and apply to all members of Parliament and other people who work in the departments,” Justice Minister David Lametti said in the House on Thursday.

Norman stands accused of leaking internal documents in the fall of 2015, purportedly to pressure the then-newly elected Liberal government to finalize a $700-million contract for an interim supply vessel for the navy. The Liberals approved the contact in November 2015.

The vice-admiral has pled not guilty, and his lawyer, Marie Henein, has requested access to a wide range of internal government documents related to Norman’s prosecution, including a confidential 60-page memo from outgoing Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the case, reports The Canadian Press. His legal team alleges that Norman is the victim of political interference by the government.

When asked about the matter on Thursday, Lametti said the Department of Justice is “co-operating in this case and providing the necessary documents.”

Bergen, though, accused the Liberals of inappropriately intervening in the Norman case, likening it to the SNC-Lavalin controversy. She questioned why the shipbuilding leak was vigorously investigated, while the Liberals have made no such promise to aggressively probe who leaked information about an applicant to the vacant spot on the Supreme Court in 2017.

[READ MORE: Judicial affairs commissioner rejects request to probe leaks about SCC pick]

Liberal MP Arif Virani, parliamentary secretary to the justice minister, accused the Conservatives of behaving inappropriately by making accusations about the Norman case in Parliament, citing internal House rules that say MPs shouldn’t make any comments that would influence a case before the courts.

Conservative MP and ex-cabinet minister Erin O’Toole, who also rose to discuss the motion on Friday, said the House rule didn’t override his privilege as a member of Parliament and said the Liberals should be appalled by this government’s indifference to the rule of law.

NDP MP and assistant deputy speaker Carol Hughes, who was serving as the chair for the debate, said she didn’t believe the Conservative members had breached House rules in their comments and would intervene if she felt that was the case.