Wednesday, May 02, 2007

 

May 2 - Press clippings

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JUDGE IN BASI-VIRK CRITICAL OF MISSING RCMP NOTES MENTIONING CHRISTY CLARK, RICH COLEMAN

By BILL TIELEMAN, 24 HOURS

An RCMP investigator's missing notes in the B.C. Legislature raid case that were produced in B.C. Supreme Court yesterday named a former and a current B.C. Liberal cabinet minister.

Current Forests Minister Rich Coleman and former Deputy Premier Christy Clark were both mentioned in RCMP Sergeant Bud Bishop's notes from an interview with Terry Fergusson, identified as National Railway Historical Society executive director.

Kevin McCullough, lawyer for former B.C. government aide Bob Virk, was upset when Special Prosecutor Janet Winteringham produced the notes just before the court proceeding began and discovered that they contained "comprehensive notes about B.C. Rail" not previously disclosed.

McCullough said Bishop's notes show Fergusson "complained about a flawed process, that he complained to Christy Clark about, that he was talking to Mr. Virk about the very flawed processes that were going on."

The notes did not explain what processes were referred to.

Justice Elizabeth Bennett also criticized the failure to disclose the notes.

"You see the problem with this? What you're telling me is troubling," she told Winteringham.

McCullough said the notes had been "sanitized" and added them to a long list of complaints about failure to disclose evidence.

Clark could not be contacted by deadline.

LAWYER CLAIMS CROWN HINDERS THE DEFENCE BY DISCLOSING EVIDENCE LATE

The Canadian Press
Wednesday, May 02, 2007

The lawyer for a former government aide charged with fraud in connection with a raid on the B.C. legislature says the Crown is trying to handcuff the defence by disclosing evidence late and insisting that crucial information is irrelevant.

Kevin McCullough told B.C. Supreme Court yesterday that he received some documents only just before court proceedings began last month, including campaign donor lists of federal and provincial Liberal Party members.

He said the membership lists reveal "who's scratching whose" back when it comes to "a bunch of federal Liberals who were involved provincially and the double-dealing and all the things that were happening with them." He said the special prosecutor, Bill Berardino, had previously said the membership lists were irrelevant.

The case, which hinges on the sale of Crown-owned B.C. Rail and a raid on the legislature offices of two former government aides in December 2003, is stuck in its third week of disclosure arguments. The trial itself is yet to begin. {Snip}

"It starts to draw some incredible and unavoidable inferences," McCullough said of the connections.

Full story, which includes Gary Collins' federal Liberal hopes:
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=27e61282-c46d-47be-a0eb-2d6350cf32ea

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KEY WITNESS 'MADE UP' BRIBERY CLAIM
Defence in legislature raid trial attacks the Crown's case

Neal Hall,
Vancouver Sun - Wednesday, May 02, 2007

VANCOUVER - A key witness in the Crown's case against two [Comment: again, how did it change from 3 accused to 2? - BC Mary] former government aides in the legislature raid trial was simply "making it up" when he accused former deputy premier Christy Clark's brother of bribery, a defence lawyer charged Tuesday. {Snip}

Bornmann and Bruce Clark were key B.C. organizers for Paul Martin's Liberal leadership campaign.

The allegation against Bruce Clark arose during McCullough's seventh day of legal arguments for more Crown disclosure of documents from the police investigation that led to the raid on the legislature on Dec. 28, 2003.

Although special prosecutor Bill Berardino has disclosed "hundreds of thousands" of documents to the defence, McCullough said new documents keep arising which haven't been disclosed, including Bornmann's statement to police in which he admitted he bribed Basi and Virk in exchange for confidential information about the bidding process for BC Rail in 2003.{Snip}

Earlier Tuesday, prosecution team lawyer Janet Winteringham told the court that she had discovered more police notes from a senior RCMP officer arising from Monday's testimony by a surprise defence witness.

"This simply proves the point I've been making to you," McCullough told the judge.

The trial continues today at the Vancouver Law Courts.

Read the full story at:
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=82a56ae4-c5ac-4e5c-83e0-cc506f311f01

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Comments:
Whomever said "Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done" in their wildest dreams could not have seen the utter incompetence and cover-up that is arising out of this case.
There can only be one conclusion to arise from this incompetence. The Provincial Liberals, the RCMP,The Mainstream Newspapers, and the Prosecution are engaging in a massive cover-up of the sale of BC rail. They are protecting the Liberal leader and at least two former MLA's (cabinet ministers) and an assortment of their friends.
One can't help but wonder how many other Lawyers (other than Collins') are in the background pulling the strings.
I think it's time to start taking the Sandwich Boards to the streets. Obviously the Mainstream news isn't going to do anything but make excuses for the ones they are protecting.And unless this gets out to the masses nothing will be done. The opposition needs to keep calling for a full public enquiry as well. I won't say Judicial Enquiry for the obvious reasons.
 
Wow.

The assistant to the absent Mr. Beradino is only now discovering notes arising from a 'senior' RCMP officer associated with Monday's testimony from the 'surprise' witness?

Three questions arising....

1) Why 'just discovering' given the long, long, long, long, long lead time to this trial's beginning.

2) Where is Mr. Berardino these days anyway?

3) If these notes are from a 'senior' RCMP officer and they involve the testimony from Monday's surprise witness, does that mean that, perhaps, the RCMP did, indeed, have knowledge of the alleged threats that the witness received from a certain goodfella from the lobby firm of Pilothouse who, again allegedly, was warning the witness not to raise so far undisclosed issues involving a certain cabinet minister in the media?

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