02.18.2019 02:04 PM

Butts out

Lengthy statement below, at the end of which one can only ask:

“Then why resign?”



38 Comments

  1. Vancouverois says:

    Wow! I just saw this on his Twitter too.

    Indeed, why resign?

    I have a feeling this story isn’t over yet.

    And we *still* have yet to hear from JWR herself.

  2. Walter says:

    With Butts’ work in Ontario, and now what he has done for Canada – could he be the worst person in Canadian history?

  3. Matt says:

    “Then why resign?”

    Exactly.

    I did nothing wrong. Nobody in the PMO did anything wrong.

    Then why are you resigning?

    If he thinks this will take heat off Trudeau, he’s going to be very disappointed. Much more will be coming out.

    • Vancouverois says:

      If anything, it renews interest in the story and makes the PM and PMO look even worse. Surely he must have realized that.

      So why the sudden resignation, then? Surely there must be more incriminating revelations coming.

    • Fred from BC says:

      “Then why resign?”

      Because it was either him or Trudeau, I’m thinking….no other resignations could possibly be effective in stopping the ongoing damage to the Liberal brand. Might work, might not.

      • Ronald O'Dowd says:

        Fred,

        Depends how many other fingers may have been in the Twin Peaks pie. Involvement does not necessarily equates with wrongdoing. But the PMO has to quickly comb it out and look at every single strand of hair under a microscope.

        • Fred from BC says:

          Maybe, Ronald. But I suspect that most Canadians, like myself, would only be able to name Butts and Telford as PMO staff; in light of that, any other resignations would probably be meaningless.

  4. Doug Brown says:

    Great news! See how Trudeau performs without the puppet master

  5. Matt says:

    JWR must be getting ready to speak publicly…..

  6. Lynn says:

    Why does his resignation letter sound like he is lecturing us about our inability to see his greatness and his vision.

    Warren
    And I have to wonder if his this is due to JWR and the fall out of this mess, as well as anticipating any potential fall out of the Brison/Norman business. I suspect his fingerprints are on that file too and things could get much worse. Not may folks in NS thinks that the Brison story is as advertised.
    Thoughts?

    • Ronald O'Dowd says:

      Lynn,

      For my money, the Norman thing is far more dangerous politically than this. Brison left awfully fast. That at the very least is unsettling and worrisome.

  7. Sean says:

    His claim to innocence is either self incriminating or a finger pointing to someone else. And this action solves nothing. Jody Wilson-Raybould must be allowed to speak and if obstruction of justice is unearthed, consequences must be the result. Otherwise it will happen again.

  8. Max says:

    Hey Warren, in times like these, there are 2 types of politicos: those that run towards the truth…. and those that run from the truth. And if Butts no longer wanted to be “a distraction”, then would it have been better to “volunteer” to appear before Housefather and the Liberal-friendly Justice Committee? That’s a bigger question than “Then why did he resign”. In my mind it implies guilt and he was getting out of dodge in a clumsy. But in the process, he has IRONICALLY shifted the focus away from JWR to the PMO. These guys give the Keystone Cops a bad name.

  9. Matt says:

    LOL. Just got an email from a friend:

    “So since Gerry resigned, who’s the Prime Minister now?”

  10. Jim Keegan says:

    Is he going to get another $125,000 in moving expenses to return to Toronto?

  11. Lance says:

    Yup the $64,000 question.

    Its like what Yoda said to Darth Sidious –

    “If so powerful you are, why leave?”

  12. Pat F. says:

    Ever hear the one about rats abandoning a sinking ship?

  13. barn E. rubble says:

    So now it’s just Beavus running things alone?

  14. Ronald O'Dowd says:

    I’m not going to pile on now that he’s gone.

    I very much understand his desire to defend himself and his record.

    He leaves still a fighter and for me, his departure has been handled with class.

    For the PM: scrutinize what others in the PMO did in Twin Peaks, using a magnifying glass.

  15. Ronald O'Dowd says:

    The PM will also have to review his own role in all this. If he’s not like Caesar’s wife, in Twin Peaks, he will be in very serious political trouble.

    They should start by reversing that decision in the Justice Committee and take it from there.

  16. Robert White says:

    Shocking resignation, frankly. Mr. Butts cannot be that great of a strategist if he has to fall on his sword for the PMO & PM.
    I was a happy Liberal knowing that he was at the helm given his tactical ability.

    He was a guru for a weekend though & I, for one, credit him for that.

    PM should have two secretaries IMHO.

    RW

  17. A. Nonymous says:

    He resigned because he was fired. Butts says so in the first para. He points the finger at Katie in the sixth para.

    This is not a statement. This is a rant from an egomaniac staffer who saw himself as the Shadow PM.

    As Trump would say, SAD!

  18. Winston Higgs says:

    I wonder if Mr. Trudeau shocked and disappointed.

  19. RKJ says:

    I wonder how the Toronto Star will spin this one. Torstar stock is in in the tank – might the Star qualify for the federal media help announced last fall? Liberals will want to keep the paper around for the coming election, I’d assume.

  20. Nick M. says:

    Would have poor internal polling numbers been a factor to the sudden departure?

    I thought the tradition is to wait till a Friday to make this type of announcement? Why not wait till a Friday?

  21. Dork in East York says:

    Butts was always a better strategist at election time than in power.

  22. Joseph says:

    Did he jump or was he pushed?
    Will his replacement be able to work with Telford?

  23. Doug Brown says:

    Would the terms of Butts’ severence be public? No way a guy like that would leave without several hundred thousand dollars. He is likely unemployable now.

  24. Joseph says:

    Oh yeah, and there is no way SCN is going to get that DPA now.

    • Walter says:

      Although potentially the massive political influence in the whole SNC affair may lead a judge to conclude that a fair trial is not possible.
      The Liberals may get there goal achieved in the end.

  25. Jim R says:

    Some commentators claim Butts likely resigned so that he could fight the allegations “without his hands tied”. I don’t know why couldn’t do that while in the PMO, but that’s what they said.

  26. Winston Higgs says:

    *was
    Fuck! I need to take my OCD meds.

  27. Ronald O'Dowd says:

    Obstruction won’t be easy to prove: pressure is one thing but did anyone either inhibit, prevent or deter the AG from taking an action, or refrain from taking one?

    I suspect the motive behind the shuffle may be more of a sticky wicket. That may be more problematic for the PMO.

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