An Ottawa judge has lifted a publication ban on some evidence in a police investigation into accusations against Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien.

Lawyers for the Ottawa Citizen and one of the newspaper's reporters Gary Dimmock appeared in court Wednesday and successfully argued that a 45-page police document be made available to all news media. The application was also supported by O'Brien's lawyer Vincent Clifford.

The document, prepared to justify a request for a search warrant as part of the investigation process, does not represent a final conclusion by police on whether laws were broken.

The CBC's Cory O'Kelly, who examined it, reports that it includes a series of allegations made by Brian Mason, an Ontario Provincial Police investigator.

In the document, Mason says he believes that:

• O'Brien offered to obtain the reward of an appointment for former mayoral rival Terry Kilrea if he withdrew from the 2006 Ottawa mayoral race.
• O'Brien offered to reimburse Kilrea for $30,000 of his election expenses if he pulled out of the race.

The document also says that O'Brien told Kilrea he was putting his name forward for an appointment to the National Parole Board, and Kilrea was to contact John Baird, then-chairman of the federal treasury board, to seek his support, O'Kelly reports.

E-mails between Kilrea and Baird included in the document suggest that the Conservative cabinet minister had no knowledge of what was going on, O'Kelly reports.

One of Baird's responses was: "You're looking for an appointment? This is the first time I've heard of it."

Police have said the investigation is now complete and has been handed over to Toronto's Crown attorney's office for review. As of Wednesday, no charges had been laid.

The search warrant application was used by police to gain access to the computer hard drive at the home of Tim Tierney, who was Kilrea's webmaster and communications director.

It describes interviews between police and all the main players, and makes clear that investigators believe two offences have been committed under the Criminal Code.

The only parts excluded were parts that lawyers agreed contain second- and third-party hearsay and unsubstantiated conclusive statements.

In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Clifford said the Citizen has already reported on the story so much that it "runs the risk of turning into an over-the-top political soap opera as opposed to what it actually is: an allegation that is currently being investigated where no charges have been laid."