In a late update to the Adscam story, the Canadian Liberal Party will request standing at the Gomery Commission tomorrow in order to cross-examine Jean Brault. This news has not yet been published in any Canadian newspaper, but I understand that it has been broadcast on CTV. This may be a result of the Brault testimony being made public here at CQ, but as soon as I get some better detail on the request and what it might mean for the investigation, I’ll update this post.
UPDATE: Here’s a CTV report on the release. It came out prior to their lawyers approving the mention of CQ in relation to the story. Believe it or not, Canadian news sources could wind up committing a crime just by linking to my blog now:
Some of the so-called explosive testimony from the Gomery Inquiry that Canadians aren’t supposed to see has found its way onto U.S. political weblogs.
On a U.S. weblog, the anonymous author said this about his source: “For obvious reasons, I cannot reveal this person’s name or position, but this person is in a position to have the information. Bear in mind that this comes from a single source, so while I have confidence in the information, you should consider the sourcing carefully.”
The testimony of some witnesses has been blocked from publication by Justice John Gomery in an attempt to protect their rights to a fair trial. …
Even with the ban, as more and more opposition MPs are becoming aware of the testimony, what they are hearing has some thinking it could be enough to bring down the Liberal government.
“Members of Parliament say this dramatic testimony goes to the heart of the way the Liberal Party machine operated in Quebec under Jean Chretien and his Quebec lieutenant, Alfonso Gagliano,” Fife said.
On CTV’s Question Period, NDP Leader Jack Layton said Sunday the revelations are damning.
“There certainly seems to be an atmosphere of real disturbance because we’ve been waiting for Liberal corruption to be exposed, and perhaps we’re on the threshold of seeing the dimensions of it.”
Perhaps the MPs are on the verge of seeing the dimensions, but Justice Gomery apparently doesn’t trust the Canadian voters to see it for themselves.