Brian Mulroney, the former Conservative prime minister whom Harper and his bunch have recently tried so desperately to brand as a non-Conservative - a pre-emptive strike before his appearance at the Oliphant Commission - began his testimony this morning in an emphatic, Nixonian 'I am not a crook' style.Right out of the gate, Mulroney tried to play the sympathy card:
Former prime minister Brian Mulroney said Tuesday at a federal inquiry he hid his business dealings with German-Canadian businessman Karlheinz Schreiber to avoid the rumours and speculation that fuelled [sic] allegations against him in the Airbus affair.
"The enormity of those events scarred me and my family for life. And it explains my conduct in trying to keep private the private commercial transaction I entered into with Mr. Schreiber after I left office, so as to avoid the same kinds of deceitful and false purveying of information that had led to the original Airbus matter in the first place."
Mulroney received a $2.1-million settlement after he sued for defamation when his name was publicly mentioned in connection with a 1995 investigation into the sale of the Airbus jets to Air Canada.
Poor Brian. So misunderstood.
Canadians will have to choose between live coverage of 2 scandals today as MP Ruby Dhalla testifies before the standing committee on citizenship and immigration in an attempt to fend off the Nannygate allegations.
All in all : drama everywhere you look.
Related:
Watch the happenings live online on CPAC's site.
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