Dutch justice minister resigns weeks before elections.

Published January 26, 2017

The Dutch security and justice minister has resigned amid reports that he was involved in withholding information from lawmakers.

Security and Justice Minister Ard van der Steur quit on Thursday night, days after evidence emerged that he was involved in drafting responses to questions about a deal prosecutors made with a drug trafficker in 2000.

The alleged actions happened in 2015, when he was still a lawmaker.

Van der Steur says he made comments about the written responses, but denied advising that information be withheld from parliament.

The allegations pose a potentially damaging blow to the administration of Prime Minister Mark Rutte less than two months before national elections.

Opposition lawmakers used a debate in the lower house of the Dutch parliament to attack the Van der Steur and Rutte's credibility.

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