Nicola Sturgeon has said she can "only speak for myself" when asked if others in the SNP are innocent of wrongdoing.
The former first minister spoke to reporters in the Scottish Parliament today as she returned to Holyrood following her arrest earlier this month.
She was questioned by detectives for several hours on June 11 in connection with an on-going investigation into how the SNP spent more than £600,000 in donations intended for a second independence referendum campaign.
Sturgeon was released without charge and she insisted again today that she was innocent of any wrongdoing.
Peter Murrell, the former SNP chief executive and Sturgeon's husband, was previously questioned by police and released without charge in April.
Asked if he was also innocent of wrongdoing, Sturgeon said: "Before I say what I’m about to say, I’m saying it as a statement of fact. It’s not a loaded statement that you should read anything into one way or another.
"In a situation like this I can only speak for myself.
"There is a difference between me and my husband. I'm an elected politician and a public servant and therefore there is an expectation that I make statements and answer questions.
"Peter is not in that position."
Colin Beattie, the former SNP party treasurer, was also questioned by police in April before being released without charge.
Asked if everyone else in the SNP had done nothing wrong, Sturgeon added: "This is a statement of fact, do don't read anything else into it. I can only speak for myself in these matters.
"I'm here speaking for myself, and as I have done previously, I'm expressing again my certainty that I have done nothing wrong."
She continued: “It’s not been the best period in my life. It’s not an easy period. I’m not saying that for sympathy…The thing that sustains me right now is the certainty that I have done nothing wrong. It is a belief and a certainty that I have.”
Sturgeon shocked the political world in February with the sudden announcement that she would be resigning as First Minister.
Humza Yousaf was subsequently named the SNP's new leader just days before Murrell was arrested in early April.
The house Murrell shares with Sturgeon on Glasgow's eastern boundary was also searched by officers for two days.
The former first minister has since faced calls from some in her own party that she should voluntarily suspend her party membership until the police investigation is completed.
But Sturgeon again ruled out quitting the SNP.
"I search my soul on these questions on an ongoing basis. I have dedicated most of my life to the SNP, and I don’t say that to make it sound like a sacrifice, it’s not been a sacrifice," she said.
"The interests of the SNP are as close to my heart as it’s possible for anything to be.
"There may be an argument if I thought that if I was to step aside that you would all then accept that this had nothing to do with the SNP.
"But also what that would do I think would be to compromise my ability and my right to assert the position that I hold absolutely, which is that I have done nothing wrong.”
The former First Minister also said the past few weeks had “not been the best period in my life”, but added: “The thing that sustains me right now is the certainty that I have done nothing wrong."
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