OTTAWA — Karlheinz Schreiber appears to be negotiating some time out of the slammer to prepare for a grilling before a Commons committee next week.

The Commons ethics committee wants the German-Canadian businessman to testify about his dealings with former prime minister Brian Mulroney.

Two days -- Tuesday and Thursday next week -- have been set aside as possible hearing dates.

But sources say Schreiber has asked for two or three days to review documents he has tucked away at his Ottawa home.

Schreiber is currently in detention at a Toronto jail as he awaits possible extradition to Germany, where he faces bribery, fraud and tax-evasion charges.

Liberal MP Paul Szabo, chairman of the ethics committee, says Schreiber's lawyer Edward Greenspan has also requested information on the hearings.

Szabo says granting Schreiber time to review his papers is not an unreasonable request.

But that could delay his appearance at the committee until Thursday at the earliest.

The committee has also called on Mulroney to testify in early December about the $300,000 he received in cash instalments from Schreiber.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper had already called a public inquiry into business dealings between Mulroney and Schreiber, which won't begin until some time next year.