Bryan Mulroney and "The Liars Club" by Louis Evan Palmer
Mulroney, like Reagan a great communicator, highlights the danger to any democratic society of the smooth talker with at-the-ready solutions and aspirations of power. They can get away with just about anything!Ancient cultures esteemed eloquence and in the absence of recorded histories, these orators cast the myths and legends of the people (to some extent in their own image) and were honoured and respected for it.
However, in modern societies, the orator is more a menace than a blessing as they are able to subvert and hide their wrongdoings, and that of their confederates, more easily; they also are more able to set societies against themselves as they seduce their supporters into an unwavering allegiance that inevitably slips into confrontation and disunity with others more skeptical and less enamoured.
The most skillful liars are smart, oily, manipulative and narcissistic. The very best liars don't even think they're lying and no polygraph would ever detect their untruths.
When asked under oath at a previous inquiry if he had dealings with Karlheinz Schreiber, Bryan Mulroney replied: "Well,from time to time, not very often. When he was going through Montreal, he would give me a call. We would have a cup of coffee, I think, once or twice."
No amount of contextualization can change the fact that this is a bald-faced lie. There were three envelopes of cash that went from Schreiber's hands to Mulroney's, probably without any coffee involved, one of those times in New York and another in Zurich. Even if this is a commonplace for Mulroney, it should certainly have been mentioned in his reply. Referring back to Mulroney's answer: it was more than twice, more than in Montreal and more than just coffee. It was also more than Mr. Schreiber calling Mr. Mulroney if it is true than Mr. Doucet contacted Schreiber on Mulroney's behalf. This short reply by Mr. Mulroney overflows with misrepresentation and evasion.
Frank Moores is another member of this Liars Club. Moores stated more than once that he had no involvement in what became known as the Airbus affair. However, in November 2007, the Globe & Mail, produced proof of Mr. Moores involvement in the form of a copy of a letter to Franz Josef Strauss, chairman of Airbus. Again, the most egregious of lies.
A probationary member at this point is Fred Doucet. Mr. Schreiber filed an affidavit which alleges that the former Mulroney adviser asked him to transfer Airbus funds to Mulroney's lawyer in Geneva. As with his mentor, Mr. Doucet denies this. He is quoted as categorizing it as a "fabrication".
Mulroney denies having had a lawyer in Switzerland but then adds "...except to defend himself.." There never seems to be a straight, simple answer with Mulroney or his cronies. And these contexts and backgrounds that are brought out only under duress and in dribs and drabs, almost always change the reply substantially, in fact, in many cases reverse it. So, we will wait and hope to see the truth emerge and see if "no Swiss lawyer" becomes "except when I did have one for.." and "no Airbus monies" becomes "except for those that went through Frank Moores lobbyist company" at which point they presumably ceased being Airbus monies and became Government Consultants International (GCI) monies.
It is likely that there are other Mulroney & company lies that stretch across the border into the States, to do with the FTA, to do with Meech Lake, almost anything you can think of. Anomalies that are currently on the table - the burglary of PC records involving possible offshore Schreiber-related funding for Mulroney's treacherous unseating of Joe Clark; the sale of publicly-paid-for furniture from 24 Sussex & then the hurried reimbursing when it was revealed in the newspapers; the appearance of large amounts of cash in Mulroney's possesion that was used to pay for renovations at Mulroney's Montreal abode after he left office supposedly in financial straits (while Mulroney professed surprise at Schreiber's use of cash).
Admittedly there will be a time when Mulroney's noxious personality will no longer soil his legacy and his achievements, if they are still regarded as achievements, will stand alone on their merit but it won't be any time soon. Until then, the promised public inquiry is a must and a charge of perjury should be levied for Mulroney's previous answer about his dealings with Schreiber.
Bryan Mulroney and "The Liars Club", Louis Evan Palmer, The Way It Can Be, http://twicb.blogspot.com
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Copyright 2007 Louis Evan Palmer lives in Ontario Canada. His short stories have appeared in numerous publications.
