Sen. Patrick Brazeau did not attend a brief hearing Friday over charges of assault and sexual assault against him, and maintained his innocence in a passionate tweet.
The 38-year-old’s lawyers claimed they had not received full disclosure of evidence against their client, forcing the hearing to be pushed to June.
Brazeau has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and on Friday afternoon made his first direct public comment on the allegations, tweeting, “I will fight these charges against me to prove my innocence. I shall return!”
I will fight these charges against me to prove my innocence. I shall return!
— SenPatrickBrazeau (@TheBrazman) March 22, 2013
The senator made an indirect reference to the allegations in a Feb. 21 tweet, writing, "I’m wounded not, but I’m not slain. I’m brusied (sic) and faint they say Just let me lie and bleed awhile; I’ll not be long this way.”
Brazeau was arrested Feb. 7 following a pair of 911 calls from his home in Gatineau, Que.
According to a police warrant, a woman, who cannot be named due to a publication plan, alleged being punched, choked, having her pants ripped and pushed down a flight of stairs so hard the railing broke.
She also alleged that the senator grabbed her breast and another body part, spit on her, verbally abused her, and ripped some clothing as she was trying to pack.
The arrest prompted Prime Minister Stephen Harper to remove the senator from the Conservative caucus.
Consequently, the Senate forced Brazeau to take a leave of absence, although he still collects his annual $132,000 salary.
The hearing on the assault charges will take place on June 10.
Brazeau’s Twitter handle, @TheBrazman, had been deleted for a while last summer after a he created social media firestorm by calling a reporter a bitch on Twitter.
With files from The Canadian Press