theBreaker.news Podcast: AggregateIQ co-founder threatened with contempt of Parliament

The House of Commons Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics Committee recalled AggregateIQ's co-founders Jeff Silvester and Zack Massingham to Ottawa on June 12. It was part of the committee's ongoing probe into the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica Scandal. AIQ, an obscure Victoria company with connections to the federal Liberals and BC Liberals, played a pivotal role in the result of the Leave campaign in the Brexit referendum and worked for the Republican Party in the U.S. Silvester attended, but Massingham was a no-show, prompting an official threat of contempt of Parliament. Silvester gave the clerk a doctor's note on behalf of his business partner, but that was not good enough for the committee, whose vice-chair suggested Massingham is hiding. "I've got a lot of friends who are lawyers, you've clearly lawyered up and, frankly, the information you provided is inadequate," said Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith. Committee members wanted AIQ to answer questions after whistleblower Christopher Wylie, also of Victoria, testified. They didn't get all the answers they wanted, but Silvester revealed AIQ's use of a phone number spoofing app and work on a cryptocurrency token. Listen to highlights of the hearing on this edition of theBreaker.news Podcast. Plus commentaries on FIFA's selection of North America to host the 2026 World Cup and a nod to those who teamed-up to help Lynn Valley residents after a devastating apartment fire. Also: headlines from around the Pacific Rim and Pacific Northwest. Click below or go to iTunes and subscribe. Have you missed an edition of theBreaker.news Podcast? Go to the archive.

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