Canadian MP Tony Clement Out Of Caucus After Sexting Revelation

Canadian MP Tony Clement out of caucus after sexting revelation

Published

7 November 2018

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A Canadian MP and former Cabinet minister has resigned from a federal national security oversight committee amid a sexting scandal.

Tony Clement, aged 57, was also expelled on Wednesday from the Conservative caucus.

Mr Clement said he was the victim of an attempted financial extortion after sharing sexually explicit images "with someone I believed was a consenting female".

He stated that Canadian authorities were currently investigating the incident.

The veteran politician issued a statement in which he apologized to his family and said that he was seeking out help for his actions.

Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer said that he accepted Mr Clement's resignation from the security and intelligence committee and as the party's justice spokesman following the revelations.

He told journalists Wednesday morning that he believed everyone could agree that this was a poor decision.

After learning that the sexting incident might not be isolated, he asked Mr. Clement if he wanted to quit the Conservative caucus.

As a member of National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSIC), Mr Clement had top-secret security clearance and access high-class information. This body has broad authority to examine the country's intelligence agencies and security systems.

Scheer stated that he would not be able to determine whether Mr Clement had been compromised.

The centre-right Conservative Party is currently Canada's official opposition.

Mr Clement is a well-known politician whose career began in Ontario provincial politics in 1995. He later joined federal politics, where he served in a number of Cabinet posts under the previous government, including holding the industry and health portfolios.

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