OTTAWA -- Conservative party brass spun into damage control mode yesterday.
New documents reveal a mounting log of interviews, e-mails and invoices supporting allegations the party overspent by more than $1 million in the last federal campaign through a so-called "in-and-out scheme."
In the statement, Lamothe said he has "reasonable grounds" to believe the party exceeded its election spending limit and candidates "improperly" claimed expenses in their electoral campaign returns.
The document contains summaries of interviews from several candidates and official agents across the country and attaches evidence such as e-mails and invoices.
"The outline of the investigation and the evidence obtained to date would be known to potential interviewees," he wrote.
A Conservative party official insisted everything was legal and above board, and called it "retaliation" for the civil suit launched by the party.
"The facts remain unchanged. We are engaged in a legal dispute on what constitutes a national campaign and a local campaign. Period," he said.
But Liberal MP Ralph Goodale said the Conservatives are spinning damage control in the face of mounting evidence that alleges the party violated elections rules.
"The arguments they're trotting out are the same ones they've tried to bluff people with for the last year and frankly those dogs just don't hunt," he said.
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