The failed prosecution of vice-admiral Mark Norman loomed large on Thursday as a second federal official accused of leaking cabinet secrets about a $700-million shipbuilding contract walked out of an Ottawa courthouse a free man.
More than three years after RCMP charged him with breach of trust, the Crown announced it was dropping its case against Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency employee Matthew Matchett.
Justice Hugh McLean conveyed the Crown’s decision to the 12-member jury shortly after they sat down for what was supposed to be the fourth day of a four-week trial whose origins could be traced back to a fateful few days in late 2015….