Harper, Ford and the video: reflections of a former cop reporter

— 10.31.2013 03:01 PM

A few weeks ago, I wrote this:

“There is no way on God’s green earth — none — the RCMP, and/or the Canadian law enforcement/intelligence community, would have let Harper get that close to Ford if the latter was facing an imminent criminal charge, or proof of involvement in a serious crime.

The RCMP’s Protective Policing Service is sworn to protect the prime minister in every way.

…So why would the Mounties allow Stephen Harper anywhere near Rob Ford?

Because they have formed the opinion that, lawsuits or not, the infamous crack video is — as its owner later told that same Toronto newspaper and U.S. website — “gone.”

Pictures say more than words. The Harper-Ford picture says plenty.

Namely, the video is gone, baby, gone.”

The full column is here.

Now, as the entire world knows, Toronto’s Chief of Police today all-but-said that his force now possessed the video. It was big, big news.

In his dramatic press conference, Chief Blair said this:

“As a result of the evidence that was seized on June 13, [2013,] at the conclusion of Project Traveller, a number of electronic devices, computers, telephones and hard drives were seized and all of the devices that have been seized have been subject to forensic review and examination by members of the Toronto Police Service intelligence unit computer technology section.”

And:

“On October the 29th, on Tuesday of this week, we received information from our computer technology section that in the examination of a hard drive that had been seized on June 13, they were able to identify a number of files that had been deleted and that they were able to recover those files.”

Get that? They get the hard drive that everyone on the planet has been looking for on June 13, 2013 – and, 138 days later – the army of cops working this file decide to, you know, take a look.

Do you believe that? I sure don’t.

I mean, if it’s true, it certainly explains why the RCMP had no objection when PMO was planning that September press conference, doesn’t it? Toronto cops didn’t tell them, because Toronto cops didn’t know what they had.

But – having a been a cop reporter, way back when – I don’t believe for a New York Minute that Toronto forensic types didn’t go over that hard drive with a nit comb back in June.  If they didn’t do that, they all deserve to be fired for gross incompetence.  I mean, it was only the most sought-after video in the world.

Something smells, here.  And, if the Commissioner of the RCMP wasn’t on the blower to Chief Blair after his little press conference – saying something like: “Did it occur to you to check all the evidence you possessed before we put the Prime Minister of Canada beside the target of a criminal investigation? Did you, perchance, have the Prime Minister under surveillance when you apparently had your mayor under surveillance? Planned to tell us about that?”

It wouldn’t be a happy conversation.

Right about now, somewhere between Ottawa and Calgary, Stephen Harper is – justifiably – kicking some Mountie behinds.  He’s saying: “When were morons going to tell me that you were okay with me standing beside a guy who was under police investigation at the time I was standing beside him?  Oh, and also that he was on a video or two, smoking crack? When were you guys planning to tell me that?”

See where I’m going with this?  After 138 days, Toronto cops didn’t know what they had? I rather doubt it.

So why didn’t they tell the RCMP?

Your guess is as good as mine.  That part I don’t understand, at all.


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