Is it just me, or is it starting to feel like we've heard this story before?
By kadyomalley - Thursday, April 16, 2009 - 52 Comments
So. According to Richard Wolson, he’s due to finish up his questioning of the surprisingly resilient Karlheinz Schreiber sometime this morning, at which point he’ll hand the floor over to Team Mulroney lead counsel Guy Pratte, who will definitely have his work cut out for him, make no mistake. Unlike Wolson, he does have a dog in this hunt — in this case, a very specific narrative that has to emerge from the testimony, as far as the relationship between his client and the witness. Which means that he can’t just spend the whole time picking holes in Schreiber’s version of events.
It’s important to keep in mind that this isn’t game theory in action; even with the two main players diametrically at odds over what went down, it would be entirely possible for the judge to find both accounts wanting.
Given that crucial consideration, simply destroying Schreiber on the stand isn’t enough. It’s possible, of course, that Pratte will resist the urge to piggyback on Wolson’s meticulous nitpicking of inconsistencies in the various stories Schreiber has told over the years and move swiftly through a very short, targeted line of questioning, simply to get him off the stand, which will allow the inquiry to move on to less wildly unpredictable witnesses.
9:13:53 AM
Another day, another exercise in artfulling dodging the array of morning stand-ups in the hall outside the Victoria room. The sun is bright and the air is sweet, but despite the lure of the great outdoors, the powers that be at the commission still seem unmoved by ITQ’s request to try holding the hearings outside on the lawn. Don’t worry, she’ll keep up her campaign — after all, when it comes to getting to the bottom of murky allegations and shadowy innuendo, sunshine *is* the best disinfectant, right?
All eyes – well, all of ITQ’s eyes, which sadly number just two – are on Guy Pratte this morning, since he’ll soon take over the lectern from Wolson. So far, he seems calm, but still vibrating at a high frequency. He practically hums, even as he sits and waits.
9:32:34 AM
All rise!
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Who's afraid of the big bad Wolson?
By kadyomalley - Wednesday, April 15, 2009 at 7:16 AM - 58 Comments
Based on the not so gentle grilling he got yesterday, ITQ would hazard a guess that Karlheinz Schreiber is — or at least, he should be. (Heck, she’s a little bit scared of him herself – or at least, she would be if she ever wound up facing him from the witness stand at a public inquiry.) From the spectator perspective, though, commission counsel Richard Wolson’s barely concealed disdain for any attempt at strategic shillyshallying is a breath of fresh air, particularly when compared to the rambling preambles and fumbling Columboing that characterizes a typical parliamentary committee. But Wolson can’t keep going forever — eventually, he’ll have to hand the witness over to the other lawyers in attendance, including Schreiber’s own counsel, who will have his work cut out for him as far as giving his client the chance to repair some of the self-inflicted damage done to his credibility.9:10:57 AM
Good morning, Oliphantiacs! Is everybody ready for day two? I hope so, because it’s about to get underway — the supporting cast of lawyers are starting to stream in, trailing their mandatory rolling briefcases behind them, and the camera crews have staked out the hallway in anticipation of the A-listers.The fearsome Mr. Wolson is already at his pulpit — okay, technically it’s a lectern, and does anyone other than ITQ feel tremendous pressure to always be scrupulously accurate when describing the various flavours of Things You Stand On Or Behind? I think I have a complex. Anyway, he’s sporting what I’m fairly sure is a distinctly more flamboyant tie — I didn’t pay as much attention to the assorted haberdashery yesterday, and I apologize to y’all for the omission. It is comprised of four or five aggressively no-nonsense stripes, and makes me feel like confessing not only to my crimes, but any and every random crime that occurs to me.
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He haunts us still
By Aaron Wherry - Friday, April 10, 2009 at 7:31 PM - 6 Comments
Glen Pearson raises Brian Mulroney’s foreign policy legacy to wonder why more isn’t being done for Abousfian Abdelrazik.
Rob Silver wonders why anyone would want to associate with a former prime minister who left office with the lowest approval rating in history.
Douglas Bell suggests everyone watch the Fifth Estate tonight.
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"This … has blown the whole Airbus affair wide open"
By Andrew Coyne - Wednesday, December 3, 2008 at 3:04 PM - 19 Comments
It seems Fred Doucet has some ‘splaining to do…
Secret Airbus connection revealed: Documents show former Mulroney aide involved in airplane sale
Fred Doucet, Brian Mulroney’s former chief of staff, received a list from Air Canada detailing how many Airbus aircraft had been delivered to the airline in the early 1990s, contradicting Mr. Doucet’s sworn testimony that he has “no knowledge at all about anything involving Airbus.”
The fax, as well as three letters written by Mr. Doucet, are the first indication that someone in Mr. Mulroney’s inner circle expressed interest in the airplane sale before it erupted as a public scandal.
The airplane delivery schedule received by Mr. Doucet outlines how many Airbus A320s were delivered to Air Canada between 1990 and 1993. The date stamp indicates the former prime ministerial aide received the fax on Aug. 27, 1993, at 3:50 p.m.
At that time, Karlheinz Schreiber was sitting in the back of a limousine on his way to Quebec’s Mirabel airport to meet Mr. Mulroney and pay him at least $75,000 in cash – a meeting that Mr. Doucet has previously acknowledged he arranged. That payment, as well as two other cash payments Mr. Schreiber made to the former prime minister shortly after he left office, are the focus of a coming public inquiry.
The fax, as well as three previously undisclosed letters written by Mr. Doucet, were supplied to The Globe and Mail and CBC’s the fifth estate by Mr. Schreiber. The letters, which were written between 1992 and 1994, make a number of references to the airplanes, and in one instance Mr. Doucet uses a code word, “The Birds,” to describe the jetliners.
“Should the documents prove to be genuine, this new evidence has blown the whole Airbus affair wide open,” said Paul Szabo, a Liberal MP and the former chair of the House of Commons ethics committee, which last year launched a probe of the cash payments accepted by Mr. Mulroney.
After reviewing the documents for the first time last night, Mr. Szabo said he will consult with parliamentary lawyers because the material “raises questions of contempt of Parliament.”
Mulroney confidant knew about Airbus commissions: CBC
A CBC News investigation has learned that on the same day Mulroney received his first envelope of cash from German-Canadian businessman Karlheinz Schreiber at a hotel in Mirabel airport, Doucet, who had arranged the meeting between the two men, received a fax from Air Canada outlining the delivery schedule of Airbus airplanes to Air Canada.
The Aug. 27, 1993, fax from Air Canada’s manager of investor relations, Denis Biro, itemized the delivery of 34 Airbus planes between 1990 and 1993.
That was important to Doucet because he was interested in determining how much money was left in the secret 1988 deal between Airbus Industrie and a Liechtenstein shell company, International Aircraft Leasing, or IAL.
The fax and other documents that Schreiber has provided to CBC News and the upcoming Oliphant Commission looking into the financial dealings between Schreiber and Mulroney appear to contradict Doucet’s testimony before the ethics committee.
In fact, letters and correspondence among Schreiber, Doucet, and lobbyist and former Newfoundland premier Frank Moores reveal that Doucet was involved in an in-depth effort to determine how much money was available from the Airbus deal.
NOTE TO THE PRESS GALLERY: Still think there’s no story here?
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Note to PVL: Apparently, it's "Bring Former Prime Ministers Back to the Hill Week"
By kadyomalley - Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at 7:43 AM - 0 Comments
Funny you should mention the whole as-yet-nonexistent public inquiry into the Mulroney/Schreiber affair, Colleague…
Funny you should mention the whole as-yet-nonexistent public inquiry into the Mulroney/Schreiber affair, Colleague Wells.
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Incidentally…
By Paul Wells - Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 4:52 PM - 0 Comments
It’s been nearly two months. Where’s the inquiry into Mulroney/Schreiber that this government promised and David Johnston recommended?
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Son of Mr. Dithers.
By Paul Wells - Monday, May 12, 2008 at 8:24 AM - 0 Comments
Stephen Harper: Bold. Decisive. Some say autocratic, but that’s the price of strong leadership. And on the matter of a public inquiry into MulroneySchreiberGateMania, which he promised and which his handpicked factotum twice recommended, we’re still waiting.
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Incidentally…
By Paul Wells - Monday, May 5, 2008 at 5:26 PM - 0 Comments
…it’s been a month. Where’s the inquiry into Mulroney/Schreiber that this government promised and David Johnston recommended?
