Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Trudeau Faces Another Embarrassment in Dropped Case Against Top Military Official

Today was another bad day for the Canada's Liberal government headed by Justin Trudeau as Crown prosecutors abruptly stayed charges against Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, the former Vice Chief of the Defence Staff of Canada (the Canadian equivalent of CENTCOM).


Norman had been accused of leaking details in 2015 of the Trudeau government scuttling a deal negotiated by the previous Conservative government of Stephen Harper to purchase a naval supply ship, a charge which he steadfastly denied. Notwithstanding his denial, the Trudeau government removed Norman from his post and subsequently charged him with breach of trust.


The case took a sharp turn in Norman's favor amid revelations that the Prime Minister's Office and the Privy Council Office were involved in trial strategy with Crown Prosecutors. This would be the same PMO and PCO which told former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould to drop the bribery and corruption case against SNC-Lavalin. Trudeau has been badly damaged by SNC-Lavalin through falling poll numbers. Hell, even The Simpsons are giving him grief about it.


With an election only five months away, revelations of further political interference in yet another judicial matter would have placed white hot scrutiny on Trudeau. Had the trial taken place, Andrew Leslie would have testified on Norman's behalf. Of course, Leslie was a top ranking general in the Canadian armed forces. But he is currently a Liberal MP and this would have given his testimony a whole other meaning. Not surprisingly, Leslie is not seeking re-election.


Needless to say, none of this will be of help to Trudeau. President Trump may have committed impeachable offenses. But Americans who oppose Trump should disabuse themselves of any illusions they have of Trudeau. He is no better.



No comments:

Post a Comment