TORONTO

The cloud of possible criminal charges that has been hanging over Mayor Rob Ford’s re-election campaign appeared to lift Thursday.

With news the OPP doesn’t see enough evidence from Project Brazen 2 to charge Ford, the embattled mayor was claiming victory despite the fact Toronto Police maintained the investigation started in the wake of the crack video is ongoing.

That didn’t stop the Fords from lauding the OPP and declaring the almost year-long investigation over.

Ford — who has admitted to smoking crack cocaine and buying illegal drugs — repeated his belief Thursday he’s “done nothing wrong” to warrant the police investigation that has focused on him and led to the arrest of Alexander “Sandro” Lisi on an extortion charge in connection with the crack video.

“I could have told you there was nothing to it months ago,” Ford told the Toronto Sun Thursday morning. “It was a witch hunt from the beginning.”

The news comes as the mayor prepares to rev up his re-election campaign.

Ford was spotted in the council chamber Thursday proofreading a draft copy of the campaign launch speech he’ll deliver April 17 at the Congress Centre.

“Serving you as mayor is the best job in the world,” Ford plans to say in his speech. “These years have been remarkable ones for Toronto. We have moved on from the waste and overspending of the Miller years.”

OPP Sgt. Pierre Chamberland said “right now” the OPP doesn’t have a role in Brazen 2.

He confirmed OPP Det.-Insp. Chris Nicholas was assigned to oversee the investigation after Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair made the request last month.

“The assistance was offered in regards to any new investigative information that may have come into the possession of the Toronto Police Service,” Chamberland said. “To date, no new evidence or information has been provided to the OPP. On top of that, our investigator who was assigned … had determined that all information in regards to Brazen 2 is currently before the courts. So because of that situation there is nothing for us to do there.”

The OPP has determined it has “no role to play so it is back over to Toronto Police,” Chamberland said.

“If they find new evidence, if they were to find new evidence where assistance is required, they can ask us to assist again,” he said.

Toronto Police spokesman Mark Pugash confirmed Thursday Project Brazen 2 was continuing.

“The investigation is ongoing,” Pugash said, adding the OPP still has oversight over the investigation.

There has “only been one investigation” that has lasted a year with some of the “most experienced and diligent investigators in the country,” Pugash said.

The case — which has led to charges against two people already — has been vetted by senior Crown lawyers in addition to higher authorities, he said.

“It is before the courts and it has been vetted by two judges,” Pugash said.

Neither the OPP nor Toronto Police would say Thursday whether investigators had finished going through the nine to 10 gigabytes of data on Lisi’s iPhone.

“The police are continuing to go through the iPhone and that evidence is still being looked at,” one well-informed police source told the Sun. “The investigation is not concluded and you can take that to the bank.”

Councillor Doug Ford lauded the efforts of provincial police.

“I want to thank the OPP for doing a proper investigation,” Doug Ford told reporters. “We love our police, we support our police — they have their job to do and we have ours to do.”

Councillor Ford said he doesn’t know if his brother was the victim of extortion around the crack video.

Other councillors didn’t have much to say about the latest development.

“This is a roller coaster — we’re all on it,” Councillor Paula Fletcher said.

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