It's over!!! The Crown has concluded its cross-examination of the Cavendish Cottager, senator Mike Duffy.
All you need to know about the cross-examination is pretty much contained in this one fact - there wasn't a single question put to the senator for Prince Edward Island about the $90,000 cheque he received from Nigel Wright.
Not one question.
And so, it seems, ends the bizarre saga of the Immaculate Bribe or, as we call it in Latin, the Immaculate Munera.
This whole case was about that bribe. That was the steak and the sizzle. The rest was so much wilted lettuce from the salad bar.
At the end of the day the prosecutor couldn't even bring himself to ask the accused about it. Now the case becomes whether the lone gunman took liberties with the petty cash box, not whether he blew a hole the size of a grapefruit in the president's head.
Res ipsa loquitor - the thing speaks for itself.
This was all about running interference for a corrupt prime minister, nothing more. It had nothing to do with justice. This is what "the Harper Government" was always about.
13 comments:
Agreed - No surprises there. As long as nothing actually comes back to result in criminal charges towards Harper, I don't think the Crown really cared.
If there wasn't even one question about the cheque does the judge have the leeway to find him guilty of accepting something that the prosecution didn't even ask him about receiving?
What about charges against the Crown for malicious prosecution?
Who could initiate that?
Right. The Crown.
Yah, that'll happen. Nice system we got here.
Dana
CV SoG - the Crown takes its orders from Queen's Park, not Parliament Hill. Right now I doubt the Liberal government of Ontario wants anything more than for this to go away. It's a tie to Harper they would prefer forgotten.
Dana - "malicious prosecution" is a tough one to prove. This case was not brought by the prosecuting attorneys of their own volition. There is evidence that, arguably, could have supported at least some of the charges. There's a world of difference between weak evidence and no evidence or exculpatory evidence suppressed.
Apparently on the conclusion of today's events the Crown attorney, Holmes, told reporters that he didn't grill Duffy on the cheque because the other evidence (i.e. Wright, etc.) makes out the offence. As if.
is this what they mean when they say Kangeroo Kourt...or is this something else. I mean can they really find Duffy guilty of these 31 charges without the moment after going and charging Harper and Nigel Wright.
It was the most ridiculous trial and I still dont get what the purpose was, Harper showing everyone how he is a straight shooter and tough on crime?
yeah right, and then the same guy goes and campaigns with the FORD nation, its just such a travesty from beginning to end.
Hey Mound you know as well as the rest of the world that this trial was a show trial worthy of a Russion dictator.
Having said that the trial was orchestrated by Harper and his PMO and now the "shady guys" (these people have no party alliegance) have decided to shut it down - just like the Afghan detainees fiasco.
Those people behind the throne, those who really run the place have decided that real names might come out and the Libs have decided that it is not worth the effort to name names. After all Nigel is a Bay St. boy and therefore must be protected.
Still these thoughts, smacking of the shooter on the mound mindset, are real and should be considered as background.
The crown never seemed to have any faith in the prosecution or the investigation. From the beginning, prosecution witness gave testimony favourable to the defense.
Audcent told Holmes that there was no requirement that a senator live in the $4000 property . He then said that senators were expected to participate in partisan political activities including funerals. Three points for Duffy right at the start.
Scharfe ( I think ) revealed the presigned form convention. Another point for Duffy courtesy of the crown.
One of the dog ladies didn't know Duffy was at the show let alone buying.
The Crown Attournies were also blindsided by the poor investigation by Mr. Mounty and his accountant sidekick. An accountant who can't find $300,000 , that's believable. A Horton hears a Who who couldn't tell the difference between Peterboro and Edmunston. First class.
Later Beatty blames Harper. Was his interview so sketchy that Holmes didn't know ? Perrin's view is backed up by Duffy's testimony that Harper told him they would find the money. I believe Duffy here.
It seems that this was a poorly investigated file, forced on a couple of unhappy lawyer.
Yes, it was a show trial undertaken for a collateral purpose. It came down to Harper's sense of "optics." He's appointed this character. Scandal ensues. Harper can try to protect Duffy, sweep it all back under the carpet where it was supposed to be kept until the Duffy email fell into the hands of Bob Fife. Remember, that was the original plan, complete with 'media lines' and it nearly worked - until it didn't. Then it was time for Plan B, aimed at shielding Harper and sticking all the blame on an errant senator.
That meant feeding Duffy to the lions in a way that really had some resemblance to the Roman days. Only Nigel Wright had to be in the wring and, at the same time, shielded from those same lions. That was accomplished by the Immaculate Bribe contrivance.
Keeping Wright safe meant keeping everyone else off the hook - Ray Novak, even Harper himself. It was awkward and nobody believed it but it worked where nothing else might.
The investigation was plainly awkward. The announcement by the RCMP that no one, save Duffy, was culpable was awkward. The trial that followed these obviously 'managed' events could not be anything but awkward.
I wonder how many of these points will be made by Bayne in his closing argument?
Mound,after Harper was gone the political interest in Duffy case was gone.
As far as $90,000 is concerned Wright was in trouble, it looks Cons succesfully protectecd Wright and Duffy became irrelevent.
Unfortunately, people will suspect (perhaps not wrongly) that a chummy social circle links the prosecutors to the executive Wright and lawyer Perrin.
It is far too easy to believe that if the Crown really tried to push Duffy's guilt about the most serious charge, accepting a bribe, Duffy would have tried to destroy the credibility (and by extension the careers) of those two. Wright's reputation, especially, already suffered terribly during Perrin's testimony at this trial.
Ben Burd....you are so on.
It's clear at this point that we live in a sham of a society. The courts are as corrupt as the government they work for.
I disagree, Jason. I have seen nothing to support your claim that the courts are corrupt. Just what do you have to back that up?
.. the entire Duffy/Wright Scandal reeks of The Election Fraud Scandal as well as The Prorogue Scandals & The Helena Guergis Scandal .. Double standards, moving goalposts, bottomless budgets for lawyers, arcane immunity - Parliamentary Priviledge.Canada has a former PM, now an MP who does not represent his constituents in the riding of Calgary-Heritage and instead is hiding out, closeted.. exhibiting only his churlish ignorant disdain for Canadians. And how in all of these Scandals - key participants such as Ray Novak, Jenni Byrne, Stephen Lecce, Guy Giorno, Arthur Hamilton manage to avoid the witness stand? Or the smartest man in the country, Stephen Harper? Instead ee've been fed the marginal dribble of Del Mastro, Sona and the sudden family concerns of the likes of Ministers Moore & MacKay, we have the MIA campaign manager from Guelph now in Kuwait, the transient and trenchant Ken Boessenkool off to shiny pony land with Christy Clarks but oops that ended badly.. and Showtime just goes on whether its the late Arthur Porter - silent now or the black ops Finley also silent. The facts of the matter need to be written in stone, before the beatification of the creep Harper can take hold of bedazzled mainstream media minds and ownership. Someone can and will kick the rotting platform out from under the Harper myth and the mutts who served him. It will get far uglier.. far far. I can hardly wait.
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