Nicola Sturgeon has dismissed claims her allies tried to bring down Alex Salmond as a “heap of nonsense”.
The First Minister said there was “no conspiracy” against her predecessor and said she would “elaborate” about the matter in the future.
Salmond, who was First Minister between 2007 and 2014, was cleared in March of sexually assaulting nine women.
Some of his female accusers were linked to the SNP and the former leader’s supporters believe there was an attempt to stitch him up.
SNP MP Kenny MacAskill, who was Salmond’s justice secretary, has said the criminal case against his former boss seemed to be “offered up to Police Scotland on a platter” by senior government and SNP sources.
Jim Sillars, the former deputy leader of the SNP, also wrote of the book Salmond is planning to write: “The book he is writing, with the material he was not allowed to produce at trial, but which has all the authenticity of Scottish government and SNP party documents, will be like a volcano going off underneath some people.
"Some whose identities I and others know, but cannot name, must tremble at the prospect of what is to come."
Sturgeon has said almost nothing since Salmond’s acquittal, but she addressed the conspiracy claims in an interview with the BBC on Wednesday night.
She told BBC Newsnight: "There was no conspiracy. It's a heap of nonsense. But I'll, as I say, in the fullness of time get the opportunity to elaborate on that view.”
Asked how she felt when she heard the verdict, she said: “The day I heard the verdict I was immersed in dealing with coronavirus and I'm not trying to kind of dodge the question but I actually was.
"Most of my - pretty much all of my thinking that day and in the days leading up to that and in the days since have been about coronavirus.
"Look there's going to be inquiries, parliamentary inquiries where I will have the opportunity to have my say and be asked questions and scrutinised and you know, I'll deal with that in the fullness of time.
"But right now, and at that point in time you're asking me about, my focus was about trying to deal with the immediate crisis the country is living through."
After being cleared, Salmond said he would not make any further public statements until after the pandemic was over.
The criminal case followed an internal Government probe into claims of misconduct against Salmond.
A judge ruled that this non-criminal investigation had been unlawful and tainted by bias.
A Holyrood committee is investigating the decisions made during this probe, which cost the taxpayer over £500,000.
