Progressive Tory Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 After years of dodging, will Brian Mulroney finally be charged and be forced to reimburse Canadians for the payout he received under false pretences? Perjury? Mulroney-Schreiber inquiry set to begin The evidence is certainly mounting and this Airbus scandal could be even larger than we once thought. The inquiry into the cash that Mr. Mulroney took from German-Canadian lobbyist Karlheinz Schreiber kicks off today, and over the next two months will hear from many witnesses who will shed light on the extent of Mr. Schreiber's mysterious reach into the Prime Minister's Office in the 1980s and early 1990s. For more than a decade, the former prime minister has deftly swatted away questions about Mr. Schreiber from government lawyers, journalists and the majority of the MPs who more than a year ago called him to explain the cash payments before the House of Commons ethics committee. But now, things have changed. First, there are many more established facts that are much more difficult for Mr. Mulroney to dodge: cash, safety deposit boxes and two substantial omissions on his 1993 and 1994 tax returns. Second, the questions put to him won't be disjointed and divided up amongst a group of mostly partisan politicians whose primary objective is to score points. But a third, significant change is the individual asking the questions - a mild-mannered father of two who is known for spending days and nights ahead of examinations honing his calm, deliberate approach. A new kid in town may finally be able to get the answers Canadians have been looking for. ... There are numerous nagging questions that he has yet to clear up - What did he do with the cash after he received it? Why did he wait six years to report it to the Canada Revenue Agency? - but the most fundamental one looms large: What service did he provide for the payments? Mr. Mulroney's only explanation so far, which he gave in front of the Commons ethics committee, is that Mr. Schreiber hired him to promote armoured vehicles to the governments of China, Russia and France. However, numerous experts in the arms trade, as well as a former Mulroney-appointed diplomat, have questioned how such lobbying could have taken place given some of the weapons trade embargoes at that time - one of which was imposed on China by Mr. Mulroney. The former prime minister's explanation is also inconsistent with the words of a former executive from Thyssen AG, the company that manufactured those tanks; the German arms giant had no desire to sell weapons to countries such as China or Russia at the end of the Cold War, Winfried Haastert told The Globe and Mail and CBC in interviews. Mr. Schreiber and Mr. Mulroney don't agree on much, but the one thing they consistently veer from is the more than $20-million in secret commissions that European manufacturers paid Mr. Schreiber during Mr. Mulroney's tenure as prime minister. The fortune was funnelled to Mr. Schreiber's Swiss bank accounts as compensation for his efforts in negotiating government contracts for clients such as Thyssen, airplane-maker Airbus Industrie and helicopter-manufacturer Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm. Those commissions have nothing to do with the cash handouts, both men have argued. Should be interesting how this will play out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyeball Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 After years of dodging, will Brian Mulroney finally be charged and be forced to reimburse Canadians for the payout he received under false pretences? Perjury? Who know's? In the meantime I'd like to hear some more blather from the Conservatives about the need for swift certain justice to ensure criminals get the message that crime doesn't pay. Freakin' hypocrites. Should be interesting how this will play out. Everyone will be dead of old age before it does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Progressive Tory Posted March 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Who know's? In the meantime I'd like to hear some more blather from the Conservatives about the need for swift certain justice to ensure criminals get the message that crime doesn't pay. Freakin' hypocrites. Right now Harper is trying to distance himself from Mulroney but refused a public inquiry into the scandal until learning that his own name appeared in the court documents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85RZ500 Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Yep, it reminds me of Adscam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonbox Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 I just hope that when that crook Mulroney goes down, he takes his son down somehow with him. Every time I see Ben Mulroney on TV I want to punch my screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molly Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 LOL Me, too. Makes me want to un-focus my eyes, and recite the definition of the word 'vapid' on continuous loop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallc Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Yep, it reminds me of Adscam So them you'll be voting NDP next election I assume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldo Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Right now Harper is trying to distance himself from Mulroney... and yet... some... won't cooperate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyeball Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Corruption and what to do about it is one of my favourite topics. Is anyone aware of any studies or analysis of the cost of corruption? Aside from cases where public funds are actually pilfered what about less quantifiable costs? Is voter disinterest exacerbated by disgust with official corruption? Does the crisis of confidence that's gripping the world only relate to economic issues or can some of the loss of faith and trust, confidence in other words, be attributed to a deeper more generalized disenchantment with governments too? How much sheer potential for more productive work been lost to the distraction and disruption of the Mulrony/Schreiber debacle? How many millions of dollars worth of valuable taxpayer dollars have been lost to this one single case? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbg Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Right now Harper is trying to distance himself from Mulroney but refused a public inquiry into the scandal until learning that his own name appeared in the court documents. And in what way did his name appear in these documents? What documents? Or is this more drivel from a pathological Harper-hater? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbg Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 I just hope that when that crook Mulroney goes down, he takes his son down somehow with him. Every time I see Ben Mulroney on TV I want to punch my screen. Do they look alike? Does Ben have the chin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabre Rider Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Right now Harper is trying to distance himself from Mulroney but refused a public inquiry into the scandal until learning that his own name appeared in the court documents. Perhaps Mulroney will do to Harper what he did to Kim Campbell, send his political career swirling down the toilet.......couldn't happen to a nicer arsehole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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