tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post8548621779910132072..comments2024-03-22T05:20:44.167-07:00Comments on The Disaffected Lib: A Bit of the Cross-Examination I'd Love to Put to Nigel Wright.The Mound of Soundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-76098946258653331292015-08-14T09:51:55.931-07:002015-08-14T09:51:55.931-07:00Isn't this plain out and out corruption MOS? S...Isn't this plain out and out corruption MOS? Simple really, why don't we call it what it is instead of eluding to it. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-60685606016985854792015-08-13T13:21:17.627-07:002015-08-13T13:21:17.627-07:00Anon, I was told early last year by a mutual frien...Anon, I was told early last year by a mutual friend I share with Duffy that Old Duff had, in fact, arranged financing for the 90Gs through The Royal Bank. That plan was derailed and I think we'll learn the minutiae of it as the trial proceeds.<br /><br />The emails reveal a concerted effort to protect Duffy, to treat him differently than all the other senators in trouble. To Harper and the PMO Duffy was a strategic asset, a relentless campaigner worth his considerable weight in campaign contributions. It's why they concocted such an elaborate scheme involving so many prominent Tories in the PMO, the Senate and the Conservative Party complete with a false trail of outright lies to mislead the public and the party faithful.<br /><br />Duffy was angry. He went to the prime minister at the time of his appointment questioning whether he even qualified to represent Prince Edward Island. He wanted an appointment as an Ontario senator. He was told there was no problem and he could sit as a senator from PEI. With that he fixed up the Cavendish cottage and began living there when he could. He fell slightly short of the number of days that would have met the PEI residency requirement for health care, lower property tax rates, etc. But that was mainly because of the incredible number of days he spent crisscrossing Canada for the Conservatives. He did more, by far, than anyone else and he felt it was unfair that he should be disqualified from claiming the housing allowance due only to his work, most of which was directed out of the PMO.<br /><br />Senator Carolyn Stewart-Olsen, who with Tkachuck laundered Duffy's Senate audit report, was in the same boat. A New Brunswick native, she had lived and worked for decades in the Ottawa area first as a nurse then with the Reform Party and finally as an aide to Harper in the PMO before he appointed her to the Senate. Subsequent to her appointment, she got herself out of hot water by buying a 'residence' in New Brunswick to log qualifying days in province. Wallin tried to do the same but her interests in New York and Toronto plus the distance travelling to Wadena, Sask. left her in a mess.The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-87854867055641988932015-08-13T12:08:34.161-07:002015-08-13T12:08:34.161-07:00One thing that still annoys me is this notion (ob...One thing that still annoys me is this notion (obediently parroted by some media) that Wright had some altruistic motive (making "the taxpayer whole"). C'mon...the taxpayer always was "whole." As anyone who has ever worked for government knows (hello CBC reporters) there is such a thing called garnishment. They could have been doing this on a regular basis (salary withholding) without ever needing to get into any of this.<br /><br />The only reason not to is if you wanted this never to see the light of day (so they could keep using Duffy's talents as a fundraiser).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-62290720634732944922015-08-13T10:13:20.854-07:002015-08-13T10:13:20.854-07:00Hi, Pamela. My best Tory pal in Ottawa, a retired ...Hi, Pamela. My best Tory pal in Ottawa, a retired judge, tells me that Bayne is excellent. That does seem to be the general view of the man.<br /><br />What's interesting is that Bayne is up against a highly educated lawyer in Wright. That said it appears Wright's only legal experience is limited and it was on the solicitor side. I've seen nothing to suggest he has any familiarity with litigation, civil or criminal.<br /><br />Top criminal counsel have to be supremely commanding in the permutations of the criminal code and the rules of evidence. These are areas in which I doubt Wright has much awareness.<br /><br />Wright has already made statements that seem to open up Bayne's scope for cross-examination, issues that should never have been introduced such as Harper's personal knowledge of these events. I have the impression that the Crown failed to control its witness allowing Wright to establish the evidentiary foundation for unhelpful areas of attack.<br /><br />It's bizarre to me, enough that I called my brother in Ontario, himself a veteran criminal defence lawyer, to ask him about the Crown's curious tactics.<br /><br />There are two elements to Duffy's charges - the meat, bribery - and the potatoes, taking liberties with the petty cash. The Crown opened with the minor stuff and Bayne did a pretty good job mashing those potatoes.<br /><br />Pay attention to the issues Bayne is raising, even if it seems he quickly dropped them. Those are issues he may revisit, again and again, in the course of his cross-examination. It's often only toward the end that counsel will assemble all the parts of that jigsaw puzzle to allow the picture to emerge.<br /><br />Softly, softly, catchee monkey - Rudyard Kipling.The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-59356536837945265642015-08-13T09:31:21.804-07:002015-08-13T09:31:21.804-07:00There is a bit of hope here in what you write Moun...There is a bit of hope here in what you write Mound. I've been convinced that Wright will protect Harper and his answers from the crown confirmed that for me, but what your saying is a good criminal defence lawyer, can ask questions, where answers by Wright while not admitting his guilt can reveal more or less the truth. I guess the outcome of this trial may rest on how good a lawyer Bayne is. Do you know much about him?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07842215982128591742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-61713600345556005842015-08-12T22:50:53.359-07:002015-08-12T22:50:53.359-07:00There's always hope, Dana. There's always ...There's always hope, Dana. There's always hope. Actually I'm sort of intrigued about some of the evidence the Crown allowed in through Wright's apparently rambling testimony.<br /><br />Some of it goes to questions I thought the Crown would object to on the grounds of relevance if the defence had tried to raise it. Harper's involvement is the big one. It would be easy for the Crown to object, claiming that Harper isn't on trial, only Duffy. However that issue was opened by the Crown's main witness and it could be hard to persuade the judge to prohibit the defence from cross-examining Wright on evidence introduced in chief.<br /><br />We won't know what Bayne's tactics will be until he opens his cross-examination of Wright. The only thing I know is that it has all the makings to be very interesting with a top criminal lawyer conducting the cross.The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-5907001923013166382015-08-12T22:04:11.683-07:002015-08-12T22:04:11.683-07:00It's rather charming that we still believe we ...It's rather charming that we still believe we are a country of laws. Danahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12465953801145126160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-38983716879619520072015-08-12T20:49:26.373-07:002015-08-12T20:49:26.373-07:00The more I think about it, Sal, the more I think t...The more I think about it, Sal, the more I think that evidence might be privileged. It is counsel's obligation to inform the client of all relevant information. If information is concealed from the client, except at the client's instructions, then the privilege - which belongs to the client, not counsel - probably should be upheld. If, however, the client was a party to the concealment, then no.The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-23611337893754125892015-08-12T19:18:00.848-07:002015-08-12T19:18:00.848-07:00https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyon7A9g3cw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyon7A9g3cw<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-59500700717344910992015-08-12T18:12:44.792-07:002015-08-12T18:12:44.792-07:00Interesting point, Sal. Can solicitor-client privi...Interesting point, Sal. Can solicitor-client privilege attach to something that wasn't communicated but, to the contrary, concealed from the client? That's the sort of question old lawyers dispatch law students to research.The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-45047519187871455172015-08-12T17:32:41.005-07:002015-08-12T17:32:41.005-07:00.. 'alternate channel' - 'cut-out'..... 'alternate channel' - 'cut-out' - 'firewall' - 'deniability' ...<br /> Ray Novak<br />Arthur Hamilton - Benjamin Perrin - Client/Attorney Privilege<br /> Stephen Harper<br /> " I had no knowledge of these things"<br /><br />Well presented, Mound.. Obstruction & Manipulation in the 1st Degreethe salamanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06853337802990122289noreply@blogger.com