Tony Clement admits to multiple "acts of infidelity"

MP Tony Clement, who resigned from Conservative caucus on Wednesday after someone allegedly tried to extort him for sending sexually explicit photos and a video, has now admitted to multiple “acts of infidelity,” one of which resulted in him having to file a police report.

“During a period of personal difficulty and weakness I engaged in inappropriate exchanges that crossed lines that should never have been crossed,” he wrote in a message to his constituents in the riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka, released on Thursday afternoon. “These exchanges led to acts of infidelity.”

One such exchange led to a woman being offered payment by an anonymous account in exchange for “the disclosure of intimate and personal information.”

Clement says he immediately reported the incident to provincial police last summer.

This happened prior to the incident which compelled him to resign from his duties on the national security committee, in which “foreign actors” tried to use his “indiscretion for financial extortion.” Clement wrote that he immediately reported it to the RCMP.

“While these exchanges were entirely consensual and mutual, they were absolutely wrong and should never have occurred,” the statement continued.

Clement went on to apologize to the women with whom the exchanges occurred and also to “anyone else who felt in any way that I crossed online boundaries that made them feel uncomfortable, even without my knowing.”

On Wednesday, VICE News spoke to multiple women who said Clement’s behaviour on social media — ‘liking sprees’ of the photos, directly responding to their Instagram stories, and late night messages, for example — made them uncomfortable.

One woman sent screenshots of Clement responding to her Instagram with hearts and responding to a nude photo of her with the words “good night.” Multiple women said Clement would like 10 to 15 of their photos at once — mostly selfies.

Another woman, who asked not to be named, said Clement sent her images of his “private parts.” VICE News had not been able to independently confirm this.

“All I will comment is he’s creepy. I thought he only did what he did because we were friends. I talked to him about my health issues and he seemed like he cared. But turned the conversations sexual,” she told VICE News. “Sometimes even sent unwanted pictures and videos to me.”

The woman said Clement told her to delete their exchanges, and at the time, she did, out of respect for him.

On Thursday, The Toronto Star reported the stories of two women who said Clement knew someone had been trying to expose his behaviour on Instagram months before his resignation.

“Pride and vanity got the better of me, and shame held me back from getting back to the path of good,” wrote Clement, going on to say that the interactions never impacted his work as an MP.

He also apologized to his wife.

“She has made many sacrifices along the way in order to build a loving home and a wonderful family,” Clement wrote. “I cannot undo the pain and hurt my actions have caused.”

The veteran politician, who also had to resign from his duties as the Conservative Party’s justice critic, committed to getting “professional help,” although it’s unclear what that means.

Questions are now being raised about how Clement was cleared to sit on the national security committee, a new and highly guarded group that is supposed provides civilian oversight for Canada’s national security agencies.

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer said on Thursday that the national security agencies that screened Clement before he took the position were not aware of the incidents, including Clement’s report to the OPP last summer.

The story has evolved rapidly since Tuesday evening. Initially, Scheer said he believed the extortion incident was an isolated one. By Wednesday afternoon, however, Scheer told reporters that “numerous reports of other incidents, allegations” had now emerged, and that Clement would be resigning from caucus at his request.

Tony Clement has not responded to VICE News’ requests for comment.

But in an email to The Globe and Mail, Clement said, “I would say I like all sorts of pictures on Instagram. I’ve never sent unsolicited harassing messages, ever.”

Cover image of Tony Clement arriving at the national Conservative summer caucus retreat in Halifax on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016. Adam Vaughan/The Canadian Press