Former Conservative Minister’s Allegation Ottawa Citizen Journalist was a Soviet Spy is ‘False’ and ‘Unhinged’, National Security Committee Told

 

Canadian MPs express confusion and skepticism about Chris Alexander’s claim that a widely respected journalist spied for the Soviet Union

Members of Canada’s national security committee admit they were left “confused” by a former Conservative cabinet minister’s “dumbfounding” testimony alleging an Ottawa Citizen journalist was recruited by the KGB to spy for Russia.

David Pugliese, an award-winning national defence reporter with the Citizen, testified Thursday that former Conservative MP Chris Alexander’s allegations about him are “false” and riddled with basic “factual errors.”

“On October 24, 2024, former Conservative cabinet minister Chris Alexander came before this committee and accused me of being a traitor to my country,” Pugliese told the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security.

“Hiding behind a cloak of parliamentary privilege, he falsely claimed that I had been recruited as a Russian spy in the 1980s and suggested I am still working as a Russian agent.”

Pugliese told the committee that Alexander’s “unhinged testimony” has resulted in death threats and harassment targeting him and his family.

“Mr. Alexander’s fabricated claims are not only outlandish but are dangerous to my family,” Pugliese said. “There are now calls that I be executed or tortured and that my family be deported — in short, this committee effectively played host to character assassination without authenticating any of the allegations.”  (more...)

Former Conservative Minister’s Allegation Ottawa Citizen Journalist was a Soviet Spy is ‘False’ and ‘Unhinged’, National Security Committee Told