I didn’t watch the solid four hours of Kielburger testimony. But what I did see gave me a sense of de ja vu. No, not because I’ve heard it before. This scandal is still unfolding, and likely has a few more chapters before it runs out of steam.

It gave me that sense because it looked similar to how Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would present himself. There something about it, that was all too earnest. Too “aww shucks, I’m sorry.” An attitude of “It’s for the children,” the same way Trudeau kept leaning on the “but what about the jobs” explanation when he dealt with SNC Lavalin.

And that kind of attitude might have worked when they were starting out. It might have worked if they didn’t run a not-for -profit organization who owns over $40 million in real estate. It might have worked if a former board chair hadn’t testified earlier in the day about how she was pushed out of her position because she tried to do her job and oversee what was going on in the organization

It might have worked if Bill Morneau hadn’t made the jaw-dropping admission that he had just the day before his testimony paid the charity back for a $42,000 trip he took to Kenya because was unable to find the receipts for it.

But it didn’t. Instead it came off as a couple of guys scrambling for an explanation they can sell with a smile. Nice try guys, but it didn’t work.