Wednesday, June 06, 2007

 

Vaughn Palmer on "Family Ties" between Mountie and Top Liberal

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JUDGE'S WITHERING RULING CITES FAMILY TIE BETWEEN MOUNTIE AND TOP LIBERAL

Vaughn Palmer
Vancouver Sun - Wednesday, June 06, 2007

VICTORIA - Three and a half years after the police raid on the B.C. legislature, a B.C. Supreme Court judge this week focused more attention on the family tie between the head of the investigation and the chief organizer for the B.C. Liberal party.

RCMP Insp. Kevin deBruyckere was put in charge of the corruption investigation in mid-December 2003, two weeks before police descended on the provincial parliament buildings.

Kelly Reichert was then, as now, executive director of the Liberal party organization and bound to be concerned about political fallout from the raid.

The two men are married to sisters. But despite the obvious need to address concerns about potential conflicts of interest, police have been less than thorough in disclosing how they handled the relationship. {Snip} ...

"Several concerns have arisen given Mr. Reichert's apparent knowledge of events during the course of the investigation," the judge reported. "There are police notes indicating that Mr. Reichert was going to brief Premier [Gordon] Campbell on certain events.

"This is not a remote relationship with little relevance to the investigation," she added, in a masterpiece of understatement.

"I must infer that some notes exist," she continued, indicating she was led to that conclusion because of other failures to disclosure in this case.

One of the most damning examples being the handling of the police interview with Reichert himself, many months after the raid at the legislature.

The interview took place in June 2005, just after that year's provincial election, and at a time when police were still considering whether the Liberal party itself may have been a victim of fraud in the complicated case.

The purpose of the conversation was apparently to determine if the party was interested in pressing charges. Apparently the party was not interested, because it had endured enough embarrassment already.

All those "apparentlies" are necessary because the police record of the interview is woefully inadequate.

The investigating officer -- not deBruyckere -- "turned off the tape" during the exchange. His written notes "do not indicate that this conversation even occurred, never mind including any details or the fact that a conversation occurred when the tape was turned off." {Snip} ...

vpalmer@direct.ca

Read the complete column at:
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/columnists/story.html?id=3adef477-9fbd-4617-8ff7-d8cc76c6f2d8

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B.C. Rail bids found at accused's office

(The following story by Bill Tieleman appeared at Vancouver.24hrs.ca on May 8, 2007.)

VANCOUVER — The prosecution in the B.C. Legislature raid case said yesterday that secret bids and cabinet documents in the $1-billion privatization of B.C. Rail were found in the offices of a lobbyist and in the home of former ministerial assistant David Basi.

Special Prosecutor Janet Winteringham told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Bennett that a series of confidential documents related to the B.C. Rail deal were found by police when search warrants were executed on Basi's home and the offices of Pilothouse Public Affairs.

Basi and former ministerial assistant Bob Virk face breach of trust and fraud charges. Pilothouse lobbyist Erik Bornmann will testify against them.

Winteringham said the accused broke their oaths of confidentiality as government employees. She said the documents police found included "indicative bids" for B.C. Rail from CN, CP, OmniTRAX, Rail America and Genesee & Wyoming, legal advice to government and a guide to negotiations for the provincial cabinet.

Winteringham also rejected defence allegations that RCMP Insp. Kevin Debruyckere manipulated the direction of the investigation away from ex- Finance Minister Gary Collins because his brother-in-law was B.C. Liberal Party executive director Kelly Reichert.

She said Debruyckere believed Collins was under investigation.

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Comments:
Where was the MSM focus on the "family ties" in the past 3-1/2 years. In fact where was there any focus on this case until someone in government recently allued to "media manipulation.

The real "masterpiece of understatement" here, is Vaughn Palmer commenting on this case at this late stage. But then again better late than never.
 
Palmer can defend himself but some of us know he was in the court house when this whole mess finally got in front of the judge. He has talked about it in his TV program, which happens to be up and running with him Baldrey and another journalist tomorrow evening. He's been out of the country for awhile, in Spain according to Baldrey.He has written about the case as well. I suggest you read his complete article of today. pretty scathing in my view dl
 
dl I don't deny that Palmer was in the court house. Although he wasn't there on the two days that I was there. John Dalet was. And yes he has written about it. My problem is with his ommission of incidents which slant his column toward whitewashing the Liberals. And don't even get me started on Baldry. As most here know I don't have TV so I won't comment on what he says there.
If you read my post carefully the jist of it is the Main Stream Media. Where have they been? When Glen Clark was set up they were almost in his bedroom. And covered every word and added some of their own. The Extreme media put on Mike Harcourt led to him "doing the right thing" by resigning. Although I disagree with Mikey's decision I respect him for it. Unlike my total lack of respect for the sitting premier.
So now dl and others, tell me in context with two other incidents I have given: Where has the Main Stream Media been in the last 3-1/2 years on this case?
 
Actually the main stream media was not doing much for the first couple of years as nothing much was going on even a few months after the raid. Yes they pushed on Harcourt and Clark , of course because they wern't Socred or the new Socreds called Liberals. Stuff did pop up now and again on TV but since you don't have such a item I guess you missed those times. Hansard is much more intersting to watch than to read but with no TV your options narrow. A lot of folks with power are somewhere right of Attila the Hun and consider those NDP folks as some model of Communists. socialists at the gate was a rallying cry for some time.If you miss Voice of BC you miss a lot of folks from all sides of events. Moe Sihota and Norman spector used to have a good program as well. Too bad they are gone. But news sells paper and TV time. A case that didn't seem to move for a very long time sort of gets a bit stale.I used to be told, read watch and hear your enemy. My God, I even read reports from the Frazer Institute. Bitching gets us nowhere. The case is proceeding Bill and others are on the job. A great majority of the public couldn't really care less, that is until something exciting happens. Unfortunatly media can and does influence a lot of folks I leave it at that dl
 
I see your point. As Mary mentioned earlier maybe there should be a blog on the MSM.

And I'm willing to bet that if Jack Webster were still around there would be no pussyfooting around.

By the way reading Hansard isn't so bad. You don't get all the childish comments in the "blues"
 
or . . . . get your rear in gear, Canwest & bring back Allan Fotheringham.

Dr. Foth's witty political insight, now a syndicated column, is still right on the mark.
 
"Actually the main stream media was not doing much for the first couple of years as nothing much was going on even a few months after the raid. "

And nothing much was going on because the media was "behaving and going with the program" and not asking any questions. When the Judge refused to unseal the original warrants until after the Campbell Crime Family was safely re-elected, no brave journalist asked WHY?

Thus it was easy for the "All in the Family" RCMP to say it was all about drugs and bikers and the Palmer's and Baldry's of the Soup Nazi's court didn't even speculate as to what bikers and drugs had to do with the legislature. It was a symbiotic relationship like fire extinquishers shooting back and forth EveryWhichWay extinquishing all nascent interest and curiosity.

Of course as long as the public thought it was all about drugs and bikers, it was easy to obscure any relationship there might be to the give away of a railroad that shall remain un-named as it is a matter before the court.
 
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