23 May 2005

Grewal cops to crime: admits to CTV he solicited bribes

Alright it's Monday and I am back.

CTV is reporting this morning that Connie member of parliament Gurmant Grewal is saying two things about the supposed offer from the government related to his vote:

1. That he wanted to prove how low the Liberals would go so he endeavoured to entice someone into an influence scam; and,

2. That while he has FOUR hours of tapes, he has only released a few minutes worth of tape at the request of the Connie comms department.

Now then, ladies and gentlemen, we are starting to see some interesting aspects of this little escapade.

First of all, to set about to enduce someone into what is, by any definition, a criminal act, is a criminal act in and of itself.

This is in addition to his solicitation of a bribe - if you accept his version of the story.

Second, as stings go, the intention to prove that people are corrupt, usually undermines the whole concept of a sting operation. If you plan to see how low someone will go, where is the line between a sting operation and, say framing someone? Grewal had motive and intention in his actions. I'd say that makes him suspect.

Third, the rest of the tapes are relevant to the entire accusation. Keeping them secret suggests the story we are getting is only a teensy bit of the whole thing. Under the circumstances, I think Grewal and the Connie comms people are hiding relevant information. I don't really care what the rest of the tapes say: let's get them into the open and deal with the whole mess.

Fourth, if Grewal is found to be telling whopping great fibs, then he needs to be sacked.

Fifth, any Connie party officials in on this caper get the sack along with Grewal.

and here is the biggest one of all:

Six - I think the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have sufficient evidence to begin an investigation into the matter. We have one member of parliament who has admitted to contacting other members of parliament to discuss obtaining some form of reward in exchange for his vote in parliament. The CTV interview is a confession. Let's get at it, Mountie detectives.

Here's the exact quote straight from the interview: "I wanted Canadians to know how low this government can sink, making these offers to members of Parliament to buy out their votes." The words you are looking for are prime facie.

Grewal's motivation is not relevent at this stage.

Let the Queen's Cowboys sort that out.

I am thinking it will wind up in criminal court.

The person or persons in the dock will not be Liberals.