Karlheinz Schreiber surprised a parliamentary ethics committee Thursday by saying the $300,000 he paid to Brian Mulroney was supposed to be $500,000, but the former prime minister didn't do the work that was expected of him.

Schreiber, who was brought to Parliament Hill in handcuffs, initially refused to answer any questions. But he eventually began to selectively answer some inquiries.

Schreiber offered few details on what was involved in the cash payments, saying the money which was given to Mulroney shortly after he left office was "for future services." He said that Mulroney was supposed to help secure military contracts, and he claimed services were never fulfilled.

At one point during his testimony, Schreiber also said that the money was to help Mulroney's financial situation after leaving politics.

One committee member asked if she could get the same deal.

With tongue firmly planted in cheek and to the sound of laughter from those in attendance, Schreiber responded, "under the circumstances, yes."

Schreiber also contradicted Mulroney's claim that the money was for consultation services for a pasta business.

He also waivered on when discussions about the money were first raised. In the past, Schreiber has claimed he spoke with the former prime minister in June 1993 while he was still in office. He reiterated that claim before the committee, but then he waffled. He said the meeting may have taken place in July, when Mulroney had left politics.

Mulroney has denied all allegations of wrongdoing -- none of which has been proven in court -- made by Schreiber.

Importantly, Schreiber told the committee that he doesn't believe that Mulroney did anything illegal. He said he did not lobby on Schreiber's behalf in any government, including Conservative governments.

But he also added that he felt betrayed by Mulroney when he did not deliver a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper during a retreat the two men partook in 2006.

Schreiber said he was shocked when he heard Harper deny that he had received such a letter, which supposedly had to do with Schreiber's deportation case.

The most recent round of the so-called Mulroney-Schreiber affair took firm root when Harper called for a third party to look into Schreiber's allegations about the letter and timing of the money Mulroney received.

Earlier this month, Harper appointed legal scholar David Johnston to determine the parameters of a future public inquiry that will be held into the dealings between Mulroney and Schreiber.

The ethics committee hearings, say MPs, are an effort to get at matters that may not fall into the realm of the future inquiry.

When he first arrived before the committee Thursday, the German-Canadian businessman said he wouldn't co-operate until he is told how long he can stay in Canada.

His case, Schreiber said, will go before the Ontario Court of Appeal on Friday where a decision will be made regarding his extradition to Germany where he is wanted on tax and corruption charges.

"Until that time I will not speak to or answer any questions of this committee," Schreiber said during his opening remarks before the committee.

Schreiber was transported from the Toronto West Detention Centre, where he was being detained, to Ottawa on Wednesday. He was wearing handcuffs, when he arrived on Parliament Hill on Thursday morning, and was escorted by Mounties and Commons security officials through a back door.

Schreiber also argued Thursday that he was not properly prepared to defend himself before the committee.

"I was not given an opportunity to go to my home, I was not given any opportunity to retrieve any necessary documents and I have not been given any opportunity to review what I have available to me in order to properly prepare myself to testify," he said.

"Mr. Greenspan (Schreiber's lawyer) believes that the Speaker's warrant therefore is unlawful and unenforceable and that I should be immediately returned to Toronto."

When those issues are resolved, Schreiber said, he will "voluntarily" testify before the committee.

Schreiber 'running the show'

After Schreiber's appearance before the committee, one member complained that he was running the meeting.

"I think the whole thing is a circus," said committee vice-chair David Tilson.

"He's running the show. I never heard a witness come before any committee hearing or any court of law and say 'sorry I can't give testimony now, I don't have all the documents.'"

Tilson said Schreiber has had months to prepare for the hearing, and his explanation that he is not ready simply doesn't hold water.

"You mean to tell me his lawyers didn't brief him on what he was going to say today? Of course they did," Tilson said.

Legal analyst and prominent lawyer Lawrence Greenspon told CTV Newsnet's Mike Duffy Live that it doesn't appear that Schreiber is taking the committee hearings seriously.

"I think the most disturbing thing that I saw on that tape of Mr. Schreiber was the chuckle," said Greenspon.

"I think the Canadian people, we're entitled to have answers to questions. We're entitled to have top quality questioners put those questions to Mr. Schreiber. Right now we don't. That's why he's chuckling. He's playing them (MPs) like a violin. The first round clearly goes to Mr. Schreiber."

Greenspon said members of parliament are not fully qualified to ask the types of legal questions necessary to get at the truth. Instead, that job should go to experts who have experience conducting tough cross examinations.

Paula Todd, the host of CTV Newsnet's The Verdict, said Schreiber appears to be an expert in working the legal system, so it should come as no surprise that he's able to maneuver easily around questions from politicians and "lean back and laugh."

CTV's Chief Political Correspondent Craig Oliver said it appeared as though Schreiber was choosing to answer the questions that served his own purposes.

"He basically did a dance of the seven veils and only took off one veil," Oliver told CTV Newsnet.

Oliver also pointed out that Schreiber was clear and concise in his answers regarding Harper, saying he has never met the prime minister or spoken to him directly, nor with anyone from the PMO.

Schreiber is scheduled to again appear before the committee on Dec. 4 at 11 a.m.

It's the first time since 1913 that Parliament has issued a summons such as the one used to bring Schreiber before the committee. The last time the power was used, a Montreal businessman was called to testify before Parliament. He refused to talk, and was put under house arrest for several months.

Last-gasp appeal

Opposition members have been calling on Justice Minister Rob Nicholson to delay the extradition so that Schreiber can testify before the committee and the yet-to-be-established inquiry into the Mulroney-Schreiber affair.

Late Wednesday, the government announced it would not extradite Schreiber while a last-gasp appeal by his lawyers to stay the extradition order against him remains before the courts.

The affair triggered heated debate in the House of Commons Wednesday. Liberal Leader Stephane Dion zeroed in on Nicholson, accusing him of misleading the House on the topic of delaying Schreiber's deportation.

"On Monday, the minister said he doesn't have the power. Today we learn his department is ready to use the power it pretends it doesn't have," Dion said during question period.

"Is the minister incompetent to the point he doesn't know the power that he has, or is he misleading the House?"

Nicholson responded his department forwarded a letter to the ethics committee, outlining the parameters for the minister of justice's jurisdiction, and with "respect to the individual in this case before the courts, of course it would be inappropriate to comment."

On Friday, the appeal court will hear Schreiber's stay application. No date has been given for when the Supreme Court will hear the leave to appeal.

The Justice Department has told Schreiber's lawyers that it will not fight a judicial stay of surrender if it is handed down on Friday by the Ontario Court of Appeal. The stay -- which will be indefinite -- is almost certain to be granted by the court.

With a report from CTV's Roger Smith in Ottawa