The RCMP believes Senator Patrick Brazeau committed breach of trust because of filing inappropriate travel and housing expense claims, according to court documents filed today.


Cpl. Greg Horton, the lead investigator looking into the living and travel claims of Senators Mike Duffy, Mac Harb and Brazeau, is asking the court to order the Senate to hand over information such as attendance records and expense claim forms.


Similar paperwork has been filed with the court for the RCMP's investigations into Harb and Duffy.


The RCMP says that through interviews and other evidence gathered to date, it believes Brazeau didn't really live where he said he did.


Questions arose last year about Brazeau’s claim that his primary residence was in Maniwaki, Que., about 135 kilometres from the capital. The home belongs to his father. Brazeau said his home in Gatineau, Que., just across the Ottawa River from Parliament Hill, was his secondary residence. He began claiming the living and travel allowances for that residence in 2011.


Senators whose primary residences are more than 100 kilometres away from Ottawa are entitled to reimbursements for travel to the capital and for maintaining a secondary residence for working in Ottawa.


Following an external audit and Senate report, he was ordered to pay taxpayers back $48,000. Brazeau is disputing the order.


More to come