The leader of the BC Liberals is blaming what he calls “selective disclosure” in the Plecas Report for some of the controversy swirling around suspended Clerk Craig James.

With questions about Craig James’ allegiances be they to his non-partisan role as Clerk or with the BC Liberal Party as alleged in the Plecas Report Andrew Wilkinson is explaining them away.

Speaking on NL’s Inside #bcpoli he says information about who James was meeting with was cherry picked.

“Well there has been a very selective disclosure of meetings between Craig James and various people in elected office as Liberals. Craig James as the Clerk his job is to meet with people in the political parties. So he has met with Mike Farnworth probably 500 times. He would have met with John Horgan many times but you will notice none of those were disclosed.”

Wilkinson says it was part of James’ job to meet with members of all parties to ensure the house was functioning.

But Wilkinson was asked why many of the meetings James expensed were with former Liberals no longer in office who had no bearing on the operations of the legislature.

“I know nothing about that. So that is a good question for Mr. James and the people who met with him because it certainly it didn’t involve me so I can’t really comment on that.”

Wilkinson says as a lawyer he has learned not to run around and make comments until all the facts are straight.

In a tweet Premier John Horgan’s Press Secretary said Craig James never once met as Clerk with the Premier.

In his report Speaker Darryl Plecas noted he heard allegations that Craig James was not in fact impartial as Clerk but rather was “very close to the BC Liberal Party.”

The Plecas Report noted 14 meetings with former B.C. Attorney General Geoff Plant, four meetings with former Premier Christy Clark, four meetings with former Speaker Bill Barisoff, and among others a “meeting at the Liberal Vancouver offices” with no clarity as to whom he met with there.

All of the 39 meetings in total were expensed and paid for by taxpayers.