Monday, April 06, 2015

Stephen Harper and the Day of the Duffy



He has tried to run from the scandal from the day it was exposed. Tried to make us believe that he knew nothing.

That it was all Nigel Wright's fault, and that when he told him the plan was "good to go" he didn't mean pay off Mike Duffy to buy his silence.

But now the day of judgement has finally arrived.

And although only Duffy is on trial, it will expose the ghastly innards of the Con regime. 

Suspended senator Mike Duffy may be the one on trial, but he won't be only person to see their motives, character and actions dissected, examined and critiqued over the next several weeks inside an Ottawa courtroom. Beginning Tuesday, Crown lawyers will lay out their fraud, breach of trust and bribery case against the former Conservative — 31 charges in total. 

But so too will begin attorney Donald Bayne's defence of Duffy, a counter-attack that will likely focus in part on the behaviour of key figures from the Prime Minister's Office and party circles.

And it will be hugely embarrassing. 

Not just because it will remind people who appointed Duffy...



And of Stephen Harper's appalling judgement.

But also because while the police claim that Duffy alone orchestrated the payoff, Duffy and his lawyers have another version.

Police allege Duffy was the one setting conditions and making demands in exchange for resolving the expenses controversy — hence the bribery charge. An email dated Feb. 13, 2013, in which Duffy's previous lawyer outlined a number of scenarios and conditions, is a central document. 

Bayne and Duffy have alleged it's the other way around. "The payment of $90,000 was not the doing of Sen. Duffy," Bayne said in 2013. "It was a political tactic forced on him by the Prime Minister's Office."

And since Nigel Wright has been shown to have done a little orchestrating himself...



As the RCMP put it, there was a "moment of impasse" when a staff member in then-government Senate Leader Marjory LeBreton's office balked at the PMO's interference. "Do I need to call Marjory?" Wright asked in an email. "They think they are hurting Duffy, but they will end up hurting the prime minister instead."
  
He will have to explain himself. 

For now, the public has an image of Mr. Wright as a wealthy and sophisticated lawyer with a strong moral bent, who jogs half a marathon by the time most people wake up. Mr. Duffy’s defence will be striving to present him in another light: A desperate political operative who tried to force a senator to repay his controversial expense claims for appearance’s sake, even if no rules were actually broken.

And that won't be easy... 



As he tried to navigate through a series of controversies involving Conservative senators in 2013, the chief of staff told a colleague they had “… to do this in a way that does not lead to the Chinese water torture of new facts in the public domain, that the PM does not want.”

Not when it's clear that all of the above was being done to protect Harper.

And not when those serving under him were fiddling with the facts.

In addition, sources said, the defence could try to focus on the fact that some Conservative officials have provided “shifting” versions of events to the RCMP over the course of the investigation, which could make for negative headlines and hurt their credibility.

And the more their credibility is challenged, the less people will believe that Harper knew nothing.

So whether he goes down or not, Ol' Duff will have the last laugh...



Or we will.

For whether Harper knew anything or not, with his record of lying like a thief, many Canadians will NEVER believe he didn't.

Never believe that a control freak like him wasn't aware of what was going on in his own office.

Or that he wasn't at the centre of this cobweb of conspiracies...



And it will damage him.

He did spin a tangled web.

And it will help defeat him...

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22 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:10 AM

    Harper was behind the whole thing, period. The great big douchebag known as the PMO will be exposed as never before and unless Nigel and the rest of the Con-spirators lie on the stand, Harpos lies will come back to haunt him.
    JD

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    1. hi anon....I can't imagine that Harper didn't know what was going on in his own office. Whether than can be proven is another question. But since politics is perception, I'm hoping that whatever the legal outcome, the political outcome will favour us. And I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing the PMO gang sweating in the witness box...

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  2. Whether Harper lied or not, makes no difference to me because the Truth has been fudged in one way or another. I firmly believe that IF he didn't Know, then he Should have!

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    1. hi Kathleen...As I said in my post, Harper has lied so often that even if he isn't guilty nobody will believe him. And we don't need a conviction to fatally damage him politically...

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  3. Anonymous12:07 PM

    HopefullyHarper will get caught in his own web.

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    1. hi anon...I wouldn't be surprised it he was, because he does lie all the time, and sooner or later compulsive liars are caught in their own web of deceit...

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  4. Sadly, all scenarios result in the same thing, a waste of taxpayers' dollars.

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    1. hi political junkie...yes it does add substantially to the cost of keeping the Senate going. But when it comes to damaging the Con brand, I like to think money is just money, and some things are priceless... ;)

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  5. Anonymous2:29 PM

    Thaty Wright got away with, aiding, abetting and paying the money for a Senator stealing our tax dollars? How can they charge Duffy and not Wright?

    I think, the fix is in and they are good to go.

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    1. hi anon...the police claim that they agonized over the decision, but did not charge Wright because he used his money, and did not stand to gain personally from the deal. I don't agree. I think their definition of gain is too narrow. Wright did stand to gain as a member of the PMO: the silence of Duffy and the sheltering of the Con regime and its leader, who he served so well. I'm hoping it will come up at the trial and the RCMP is forced to disclose its reasoning...

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  6. Anonymous11:40 PM

    Meanwhile, back at the PMO....

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P83DMziX1gA

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    1. hi anon...thanks for that link I enjoyed it immensely. It took me back to the time when I used to sing it at the Sunday School my parents sent me to when I was a young boy. And it does fit the Cons so well. I think I might have to borrow a few seconds for a video I'm making on Kenney...;)

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  7. e.a.f.12:19 AM

    interesting "story" on CPAC this evening, going over the story. what is clear, if duffy wasn't "living" in PEI why did greatless leader anoint him as senator from PEI.

    from there it is all downhill whatever happens many will be wondering what the truth is. we can only hope it doesn't turn out to be another BC Rail trial.

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    1. hi e.a.f....there are two stories at this trial. One the expenses stuff which people might tune out quite quickly. But the question of the deal which Duffy's lawyer is apparently going to focus on is the part a lot of people will be interested in. Because some of stuff the Cons were caught doing borders on a cover-up, and if that can be led anywhere near Harper, nobody will believe that he didn't know what was going on. And the damage to his credibility could be fatal at this point in the election campaign...

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  8. I plan to get some T-shirts made with Harper's face on it, and lettering such as:

    2015 federal election...

    STEPHEN HARPER: HE'S GOOD TO GO... DOWN TO DEFEAT!

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    1. hi David....I'm trying to figure out how to make a STOP HARPER t-shirt, that's difficult enough. And I can't help feeling that both our t-shirts are far too polite... ;)

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  9. The Ballad of Mike Duffy: A moral reflection on the tragic downfall of a journalistic icon and statesman

    http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/the-ballad-of-mike-duffy-a-moral-reflection-on-the-tragic-downfall-of-a-journalistic-icon-and-statesman

    “Get Duffy” - Song by Daft Tories
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3_pB89Kt_s

    http://www.cpac.ca/en/programs/cpac-special/episodes/90005063/

    CPAC Special - Duffy on Trial
    CPAC previews the criminal trial of suspended senator Mike Duffy for fraud, breach of trust, and bribery. Revisit key moments from the Senate expenses controversy, and look ahead to the issues, witnesses, and political questions surrounding Duffy's trial. (April 2, 2015)

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  10. http://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/opinion/letters/234678261.html

    Ralph Goodale:

    [snip]

    The prime minister claims he knew nothing, saw nothing, was told nothing, asked nothing and did nothing as a grotesque “deception” (as he called it) was pulled off right under his nose by his most trusted confidantes.

    And he refuses to answer any specific questions about what went on and why.

    His strategy is to deflect, deny and obfuscate, which makes Canadians even more suspicious.

    In a particularly troubling portion of the police documents about a deal with Duffy, Mr. Wright is quoted as saying, “I do want to speak to the PM before everything is considered final.”

    Later his e-mails go on to say, “We are good to go from the PM.”What exactly does that mean?

    The Conservatives claim “good to go” meant Mr. Harper approved Duffy repaying his own expenses. But that seems nonsensical.

    Why would the Prime Minister have to approve that? This and so many other serious questions remain unanswered.

    That’s why we have called repeatedly for Mr. Harper to testify under oath. His government has lost its sense of right and wrong. Canadians deserve better.

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  11. hi David...I heard the clown Calandra the other day giving the new version of what "good to go" meant. According to the clown it meant that Harper was good to go with the idea that Duffy should pay back the money. Which sounds absurd to me. Would he not be good to go with such an idea? I hope Duffy's lawyer goes straight for that, because it should not survive too much scrutiny...

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    1. Harper said that himself during Question Period.

      Why would Duffy need Harper's permission to pay back his own illegal expenses??? 8-)

      Yes, it's very absurd.

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  12. The legality of this baffles me. If, as the RCMP claim, Duffy was setting the terms of the payoff etc., then isn't that extortion? It seems to me that either Duffy is guilty of extortion or Wright is guilty of bribery, or both. And since both Duffy and the PMO had something to protect and something to gain, it seems, using the principle of qui bono, that both are probably guilty. But I suspect that the RCMP was afraid to bring an extortion charge because such a charge would be too provocative and probably impossible to prove. Either way, the fact that no one in the PMO was charged with anything is a decisive demonstration that the RCMP has become irreparably compromised and the next government needs to liquidate the entire force and start over.

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  13. Anonymous11:27 AM

    "Onward Christian Soldiers Marching Off To War"

    Oh the absurdity...

    Lets go kill Muslims shall we? What gives us that right to invade their countries? Oh shit I forgot Stephen Joesph Harper's divine right a a soldier of god oh I meant dog. If only his kitties knew they would claw him to death for being one of the planets [not only] mean spirited piece of crap alive today...

    Sorry for the strong language but hey someone has to do it we have to get rid of this dung filled dictator.

    Mogs Moglio,
    I want my Canada back the one I grew up in. Not Harper's brave new world.

    Here I'll tell ya a nice con clown show story and I swear this is true. So one day the wildlife authorities show up at my former residence in the East Kootenays BC and they have their uniforms and guns Mountie looking dress hat ya know when they do their musical ride? Ya one of those hats so they look fancy. They had a giant Fancy Dodge Ram pick-up truck air conditioning power windows cruse control you name it it was a fully loaded Dodge Ram not a basic model. And they were setting up a camera in my back pasture. So I say what the hell are you doing here on private property? They replied looking for a killer cougar problem is the cougar had never injured a person or child.

    Here is what it's crime was and why later it with testosterone running unfettered goon squads got shot to the death and then got dumped in a county landfill.

    Okay lets get on to the crime it cougar got the death sentence for you ready? My nut case neighbors about a quarter of a kilometer up the road now you need to know this was country not urban.They had two young children the family were as we used to call them "City Slickers" because they have no Ideas how to survive in a rural environment.So they bought two "pet" goats for their two kids.So I remember prior to the slaughter of the magnificent Cougar the little goats trapped in a pen six feet long and six feet wide with a four foot fence surrounding. And the had a door-less shed four feet by six feet how dumb is that in Cougar country? They had a nice veggie garden with a nine foot fence.Every time I walked by their property the penned goats would bleat like they were starving for attention.

    Obvious to me they knew. So the cougar in an easy launch off the top of a six foot tall shed eats both "pet" goats. So in my mind the adults that ignored the goats and their safety and security were to blame not the cougar but wildlife officers were informed "we have two little children" well fuck go back to the suburbs if you don't have a clue about rural life and especially wildlife.

    Cheers Simon,
    Mogs

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