Harper threatens lawsuit unless Liberals appologize

[dancing-loon]

Another Mulrooney??

Harper files notice of libel over Cadman allegations


Prime Minister Stephen Harper has filed a notice of libel against Liberal Leader Stephane Dion and other top Liberals over allegations they've made about him in the Chuck Cadman affair.

Robert Fife, CTV's Ottawa bureau chief, told Newsnet that Dion was served this morning at his Stornoway residence in Ottawa.

"The prime minister is not only suing the Liberal leader, he's suing the deputy leader, Michael Ignatieff; Ralph Goodale, who is the House leader; and the Liberal Party of Canada," he said.
"Mr. Harper's notice of libel says they've accused him of knowing about Conservative bribery in the Cadman affair," he said.

• 
  [*]Read the notice of libel here (.pdf)

Harper said the allegations, made outside the House of Commons and on the Liberal party's website, are false and misleading. He is asking for an immediate retraction, Fife said.

The notice asks for two allegedly defamatory articles to be removed from the liberal.ca website and provides wording for an apology to be read out by Dion in the House of Commons. The notice requests the apology be given in English and French.

If the Liberals don't provide an apology, the Conservatives want the Liberals to preserve all records and email traffic, Fife said.

Last week, a new book made the claim that former Conservative MP Chuck Cadman was essentially offered financial inducements by Conservative party officials to vote down the Liberal government's 2005 budget.
Cadman ultimately voted to support the budget.

Full report here: http://tinyurl.com/yvnxfy
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Wow!!...What a bombshell!! I bet the wires are hot around Ottawa today!
Do you think this Harper move is a scare tactic? Or is he for real IF the Liberals won't apologize?

 

[Tonington]

Harper has filed notice, that unless an apology is issued concerning statements made on the Liberal party website, and the offending comments are not removed, that he will sue the Liberal Party, Staphane Dion, Michael Ignatief and Ralph Goodale for libel. The comments concerning the allegations that Harper was aware of the offer of an insurance plan to the late Chuck Cadmen for a possible change of affiliation in the House, are not covered by the privilege enjoyed in the House, which protects any comments from possible libel suits, among others.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/03/03/harper-libel.html

 

[dancing-loon]

Dona Cadman, who will be running for the Tories as a candidate in B.C.'s Surrey North riding, said she raised the issue of an alleged million-dollar life insurance offer to her then-terminally ill husband to help gain his vote against the 2005 Liberal budget with Harper about two-and-a-half years ago.
"He looked me straight in the eyes and told me he had no knowledge of an insurance policy offer. I knew he was telling me the truth; I could see it in his eyes," Dona Cadman said in the statement released Monday.
"He said, yes he'd had some discussions with two individuals about asking Chuck to rejoin the party, but he'd told them they were wasting their time trying to convince Chuck.
"From that point forward, I didn't regard it as a 'party' initiative, but rather the overzealous indiscretion of a couple of individuals whose identity Chuck never revealed to me."
Chuck Cadman didn't rejoin the Tories, voted to support the budget and then died a few weeks later of cancer.
Dona said she liked, respected and trusted Harper.

http://tinyurl.com/yvnxfy
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What a bunch of nincompoops we have governing our country! I'm disappointed in Harper to even waste time and effort on this unimportant nahnah blah blah!! Engaging himself in such a stupid tit for tat matter he writes himself a poor testimony or resume!!

 

[dancing-loon]

When the going gets tough...

Stephane Dion has spent the better part of his 15 months as Liberal leader being accused of chronic wimpiness. We may now be about to find out if his accusers are right.

I'm not a legal expert, the three weeks I spent in law school notwithstanding. But from a purely political standpoint, the Conservatives' libel threat could blow up in their faces.

Whatever exactly went on between party officials and Chuck Cadman, the Tories still haven't coherently explained the discrepancy between what Stephen Harper said about it at the time and what he says now. And instead of doing so now, they're instead trying to shut down any further discussion of it - giving the impression, rightly or wrongly, that they have something to hide.

One of the big questions, from a political standpoint, is whether this story has legs. By getting the lawyers involved, the Tories have given it a fresh angle and kept it going at least another couple of days. But - and this is a big but - the question now is whether Dion will buckle as Harper no doubt expects him to.

Obviously, the Liberals have to step carefully here. But that should mean running all their public statements past their own lawyers to make sure they don't cross the line - not shutting up entirely on the subject. Brian Mulroney has proven, time and again, that you can threaten libel as often as you want - if you haven't answered the questions properly, they're not going to go away. But that's only true if the right people keep asking them.

http://tinyurl.com/2wh488
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What I would like to know is, did Brian advise Stephen to serve Dion with a libel suit?:roll:

 

[dancing-loon]

Please, read what else Adam Radwanski has to say:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/wbradwanski

 

[Cobalt_Kid]

This is the return of Mr. Slithers, Harpers more reptilian side is coming to the fore again.

Both Cadmans widow and daughter confirm that the offer was made to bribe the independent MP to vote against the Liberals. The Liberals are merely fufilling their role as the opposition to criticize this clear breach of ethics and probably the law. If the shoe was on the other foot Harper would be screaming till his tits were blue about Liberal corruption.

I guess Harper feels he's above the law and standard political ethics. We've seen with the Emerson affair, Atlantic Accord, Afghan prisoners torture, media muzzling and so much more how little respect Harper has for human rights and the democratic process. He should be apologizing to us for his sad behaviour, not making more phony attacks on the Liberals. It's not just Mulroney who thinks he's better than Canada and Canadians in general, Harper has a good dose of the same arrogance that has seen "Lord" Black end up in prison.

Instead of pulling a Tom Cruise and using the threat of a libel suit to stop the democratic process, Harper should take his lumps like a big boy. He wanted to be PM, now he gets to find out what happens when you screw the pooch this way.

 

[wallyj]

Oh yeah,you nailed it. The liberals make absurd allegations that cannot be proven, slander the PM and Harper is the bad boy. Wow,liberalism really is a mental disorder. BTFW,the detainee deal that has caused the gov't so much grief was signed and put into place in November 2005. The conservatives did not take office until Feb.2006. Gee,isn't it odd that the media and the libs never mention this fact.The Atlantic accord was always available,always. But you are right on the emerson BS,that was as bad as Belinda,the other BS,selling out for a cabinet post.

 

[Cobalt_Kid]

And blah, blah, blah...it's time to look at the ****ty job the Conservatives have been doing for the last two years, not the same old, "Mommy, the Liberals hit me again" whining.

We need less sleaze in our politics not more, and despite what you say Harper and company are at least as corrupt in their own way as any former Liberal government.

Cadman on the other hand epitomizes what our MPs really should be, independent of the ****ing mind control attempted by PM after PM and Harper is no exception. It's an insult to Canadians that they tried to buy this man off and there should be an inquiry at the least to find out what really happened. I have no doubt other dubious activity of Harper and his merry bands of miscreants will come to light.

Belinda is hardly comparable to Emerson, she crossed the floor because of the lack of respect for women in the Conservative party, something made blatantly clear by latter comments MacKay made in the house. Emerson was bought and paid for while the ballots were still warm, the only objection he had to being a Liberal was the fact they were going to be the opposition. You don't make a democracy work by short-circuiting the process, something Harper has turned into an artform.

 

[Tonington]

These comparisons are always so hilarious to watch. When caught with your hand in the cookie jar, just show how someone else did it, and were more devious, more nefarious, more scandalous, more unethical, etc. It's the SOP in politics. Excuse your own follies by mentioning the follies of someone or something else. Bunch of goddamned hypocrites. Being a loyal party voter is for rubes.

 

[Cobalt_Kid]

Maybe Harper will sue himself for comments he made on tape earlier, or the family members of Cadman who are recounting what the former MP told them as he was dying. By painting them as liars Harper shows just how far he'll go to maintain his squeaky clean image, even if it is only a thin veneer.

Anyone who believes the Conservatives under Harper are any more ethical than Mulroney and his mob should give their head a shake.

 

[Cobalt_Kid]

“Of the offer to Chuck,” he quotes Mr. Harper as saying, “it was only to replace financial considerations he might lose due to an election, OK. That's my understanding of what they were talking about.
“I don't know the details,” he said. “I can tell you that I had told the individuals - I mean, they wanted to do it - but I told them they were wasting their time. I said Chuck had made up his mind he was going to vote with the Liberals. I knew why, and I respected the decision, but they were just, they were convinced there was, there was financial issues and, there may or may not.
“They were legitimately representing the party,” Mr. Harper confirmed. “I said ‘Don't press him, I mean, you have this theory that it's, you know, financial insecurity, and you know, just, you know, if that's what you say make the case,' but I said ‘Don't press it.'”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/wbradwanski

Sounds pretty clear from the earlier interview that Harper knew members of his party were offering money to another MP to buy his vote. Maybe he thinks he's allowed to pick and choose the laws he wants to follow, how is that different from any other criminal.

I think Dion is bang-on, the Conservatives broke the law and need to pay the price.

 

[lone wolf]

When does recess end?

Woof!