Basi and Virk, of course, are the two former BC Liberal ministerial aides who face corruption charges in BC Supreme Court over the BC Legislature Raid case, where they are alleged to have provided confidential government documents about the $1 billion privatization of BC Rail to lobbyists for a bidder.
Bornmann is one of those lobbyists who is the Crown's key witness against Basi and Virk, and Aneal Basi, who faces money laundering charges connected to the case.
Apparently there is a publication ban on the proceedings of David Basi's preliminary hearing on charges of breach of trust and fraud related to Crown allegations he helped remove land from the Agricultural Land Reserve for the Sunriver Estates housing project in Sooke in exchange for a payment of $50,000.
Justice Ernie Quantz is hearing that case, in which veteran developers Tony Young and Jim Duncan are also facing charges.
Global TV's Keith Baldrey interviewed Basi's lawyer Michael Bolton about the case for CHEK but unfortunately I did not see that report.
UPDATE - To clarify, Bornmann, Basi and Virk were videoed separately, not together, by TV stations.
13 comments:
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BC Mary has run a few extra miles on this bewildering case, too, Bill. And I was able to confirm the hearing dates as of 6:30 AM each morning but am not sure who, if anybody, attended the A.L.R. hearings for Dave Basi.
I cannot see why such an important issue isn't more available to the public. For all we know, the same process could allegedly have been employed to slide 650+ acres of rare Sooke farmland into private pockets ... as, say, the sliding of BC Rail into private pockets.
Apparently CanWest newsrooms could not be convinced to send one of their few surviving journalists into Victoria Court House even for a few hours to absorb some of what happened in Courtroom 102 this past week.
The publication ban was poorly understood ... Leonard Krog's people told me (a) there was no ban, and (b) oh yes, there is a publication ban ... journalists the same ...
I asked "A" Channel, no response.
I'm not whining ... rather, I'm hoping people can understand what's happening. Either we strap on our climbing cleats and gather up the ropes so as to scale the walls of justice ourselves ...
or
lazy journalists will truthfully be calling us apathetic and uncaring because we'll never know what changed our province.
Meantime, there's a nice little news story in Vancouver Sun about John Les (also under investigation for some alleged Chilliwack A.L.S. problems) saying he'll seek re-election in his Chilliwack Riding. Like, so what?
Like it's all normal.
Like ... what is "normal" these days. I know. Let's ask Erik Bornmann ...
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Eventually the WHOLE story will come out, trust me...
Mr. T, the Alex --
Please, we beg of you, tell us which story, exactly, you are refering to.
Thanks.
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Um, could you make it so it comes out before May, please?
“A government, for protecting business only, is but a carcass, and soon falls by its own corruption and decay.”
Amos Bronson Alcott
I'm not sure if it can be done before May, but it will come, trust me...
Sorry...believe me, If I could do it right now, I would...
The only way for this to come out before May, will be if an In-Camera document is slipped out of the BC Liberal Executive Council meetings and turned over to the Press.
Most of you just don't get it!
You talk about THE PRESS getting certain documents and exposing the truth.
But you don't seem to understand that the editorial gangs and their country club bosses have known the truth all along and are surpressing THE TRUTH for their good friend Gordon Campbell and the ON-THE-TAKE Grits.
Add to this the army of BC judicial butt-kissers all ready to help BC's autocrat hold on to power.
So even if you could actually find a "real journalist" to run the truth, the Campbell controlled courts would shut them down within hours.
The GREAT SATAN
On Wednesday January 14th, Justice Bennett appeared in Victoria to issue her oral ruling on the issue of litigation privilege being claimed by the RCMP.
In her lengthy decision, she did not support the RCMP claims of litigation privilege. Rather, she determined that the litigation privilege claim is limited and she decided on a case by case basis what documents should be disclosed immediately to the defence.
Some documents were "highly relevant" or that some documents were not relevant. A number of documents where Justice Bennett determined that litigation privilege still may be applicable will be the subject of next week's hearing in Vancouver. Those documents contain information that the defence feels are important to highlight the conduct of the RCMP.
Of the 300 or so documents that Justice Bennett reviewed, the documents that she determined were highly relevant are documents that caused a stir in the Victoria courtroom.
For example, Document #727 is an email chain that involves Superintendent Dick Bent, Sgt. Gately and Cpl. Robinson. It was sent to Martha Devlin (DOJ Prosecutor) and the judge stated that it invovles RCMP misconduct.
As I sat in the rear of the courtroom, a number of people attended. Both Basi, and Virk were there along with a group of students in the gallery, and about 8 people in attendence.
This was another judgement that went against the Special Prosecutor.
After the decision, Janet Winteringham and her junior, rushed off without answering questions. The defence lawyers stated that the decision spoke for itself.
Both Basi and Virk did not speak with me. Although they were speaking with a number of people in the gallery.
After refusing to disclose documents that Justice Bennett determined are relevant, why do the Special Prosecutor and the RCMP continue to delay this case?
I urge you to read the Judges rulings in this case. Despite the ever increasing number of legal privileges that are being raised in this case to block basic disclosure, the defence continues to overcome those legal hurdles.
It is clearly time for Bill Berardino's legal team and from the RCMP to raise the anchor that is weighing this case down.
If the RCMP and Special Prosecutor do not change direction, this case will collapse under its own weight.
VICTORIA COURTROOM 401 -
JANUARY 12, 2009 9:00AM - 10:45AM.
We're all managing to work around the mainstream media, in many respects they're simply making themselves irrelevant and redundant. May 12th is coming, information must make it into the public domain so voters have a chance to understand who and what they're voting for.
With the gag law, the Liberals are going to try to go after everyone, including bloggers, so time is of the essence.
If the entire federal government wasn't in question as well I would say there should be some sort of Royal Commission into the governance, leadership and management of the BC government over the last 8 years.
This situation is not unlike what's happened to the new Vancouver city council over Olympic construction. There are many, many things the NDP are going to inherit, going to have to uncover, manage and explain to citizens and voters about what the previous administration did that got the province of BC into so many pickles and messes and it will cost us all so much. I hope people will remember who was to blame, as we tend to have short memories. Each administration lives & dies by their own swords, taking many with them.
Unfortunately, Campbell's minions will probably run out the clock and we'll go to the polls before they stay charges. People on the prosecution side have done a masterful job serving the Liberals. Given the system, this is hardly surprising. The Attorney General's department should be independent of Government and only accountable to the full legislature. Mr. T, is the NDP willing to remove politics from the administration of justice?
Bill, lets be clear about one thing. I was at the courthouse that day to sit in on the proceedings. Basi and Virk, but Basi in particular did not hide from anybody. He spoke to the press, informed them he would walk out the front door and did everything he could to be as open as possible.
Bornmann on the other hand refused to go outside and allow himself to be caught on camera. From my understanding he was secretly taped by one of the camera guys who was there. The camera's waited for Bornmann to come out but he refused to do so. How ironic - if this guy has nothing to hide why was he reluctant to let the cameras tape him?
The proceedings last week were almost surreal, the star witness is hiding while the accused openly talking with people and refuse to hide.
Anonymous 10:23,
It's good to have somebody come right out and say "I was there. I saw this. I saw that. Etc." Many thanks for this eyewitness report on a little bit of last week's Basi-Virk news.
Darned if I can understand why the public can't hear a lot more about ... well, I guess the A.L.R. Case against Basi ... but Madam Justice Bennett was there, making rulings on the Basi Virk Basi Case, too. What's that all about.
Publication ban or not, I'm pretty sure there's no reason why these simple facts can't be told ... so that citizens could attend the hearings if they wished to do so.
You speak of camera guys ... where's their work? If you ask me, the media came off looking pretty shabby last week.
I understand that publication bans are used to protect the accused and/or witnesses. Well, obviously from what you describe, Dave Basi wasn't worried about the press. And if witnesses weren't to be identified, who's that nervous guy again ... Erik Bornmann? Yeah, Erik Bornmann. Him. Fully identified but nothing explained.
We don't even know whether that A.L.R. case against Dave Basi is ongoing this week or maybe even completed. BC is a banana republic without the bananas.
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