Breaking:
Turnbull has admitted that there is no case for Prime Minister Rudd to answer. “The case that Mr Rudd misled the house about the communication is not sustained,” he told AM this morning.
Australian Federal Police have confirmed the email at the centre of the Utegate affair is a fake.
“A preliminary forensic investigation of computers located at a premises in Calwell and at the offices of the Department of Treasury has been undertaken,” the AFP says in a statement.
“Preliminary results of those forensic examinations indicate that the email referred to at the centre of this investigation has been created by a person or persons other than the purported author of the email.
“A 42 year-old Calwell man has been interviewed by the AFP in relation to this matter and it will be alleged that the interview is consistent with preliminary forensic advice.”
Earlier:
Bernard Keane writes:
Parliament has kicked off its consideration of the John Grant affair with standing orders being suspended to allow a debate over the fake emails and treatment afforded car dealer John Grant.
The debate commenced as the ABC broke the news that the house of Treasury official Godwin Grech had been raided by Federal Police and that a faked email had been found within Treasury’s system.
Word of the raid appeared to be slow to filter onto the floor of Parliament. Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey, apparently not understanding the meaning of the ABC report, commenced his speech by declaring that it showed that the Prime Minister was wrong when he said there was no email in Treasury. Malcolm Turnbull himself, who led the Opposition attack, gave a poor performance and appeared distracted, lacking his usual forensic focus, and spent much of Hockey’s speech sitting staring at the Dispatch Box. Both Kevin Rudd and Wayne Swan gave aggressive performances, with Rudd also singling out News Ltd for special criticism, particularly of Steve Lewis and the Telegraph‘s decision to run with the faked email on Saturday morning. Swan also gave a solid defence of the attacks on him, again rejecting the claim that he had singled Grant out for special treatment and claiming he had provided similar treatment for car dealers represented by Nationals MP Kay Hull.
The tenor of the battle could be gauged from the respective backbenches. ALP members were loud and in good voice, while nearly all of the Opposition sat quietly.
The most recent breaking news is, according to The Punch, that the AFP are investigating links in the affair between Treasury and Malcolm Turnbull’s office.
If there’s anything to that, it will be goodnight Malcolm.
This could have all gone so differently if Turnbull had shown some restraint.
Bizarrely the online face of The Australian appears in denial of the reality of these unfolding events, insisting that the issue, in its latest reports, dwells entirely on debate over Swann’s role ignoring what is happening in the real world outside parliament.
Whatever happens after today, Turnbull has once and for all exposed his total unsuitability for a life as a leading politician. The whole tone of the Opposition’s attempted attack on Rudd and Swan has swung competely to Swan. That leaves Turnbull completely out on a limb. He was the one leading the attack over the email, he was the one accusing the PM and the Treasurer of being liars. Today not even a censure motion against the PM. Nothing. Now the email is a scam. The Feds have found it on the poor jittery Godwin Grech’s home computer. No bloody wonder he was jittery and looking a ruined man. He was well aware the phony email was on his home hard drive. Over the weekend Turnbull and Hockey were defending this unfortunate individual. Let us see now how they defend him. Sen Abetz who I have made reference to many times on this matter is another who should be wondering what the Feds will turn up next. He quoted verbatim from the supposed email at the Senate hearing before the spam document was printed by News Ltd. But according to Turnbull none of his team had any knowledge of the contents, before last Saturday morning. His words this morning on radio.
It appears the Police will now check members of the oppositions computers. The path slowly seems to be leading in a predictable direction. And it certainly isn’t in the Govts direction.
Rudd and Swan are GUILTY.
This issue is NOT about an email, it is about the fraud on seret backroom deals and favours and liars covering their ar*ces.
Labour and Kevin ‘bully’ Rude’s private paid PR spin team can put all the smokes and screen diversion tricks up, coz Kevin ‘BULLY’ RUDE knows he is a goner and his reptutation shot…. he cried communist red tears last night, coz his globalist dream of being head of the United Nations Security Council is slippin away 🙂
RUDE and his Canberra flat mate of 10 years aka ‘Australian Treasurer’ Wayne Swan are in deep deep trouble over a scandal of favours for business dealings that could see both of them SACKED from Parliament, it has been labled as ‘Utegate’.
In Kevin Rudd’s bid to dodge fire, deflect and confuse the media reporting on the truth, he is firing furfy’s back at the main accuser Turnbull and getting his team to throw curve balls that looks like keystone cops with contradictory statements of fact and fiction.
This is the Scandal of the Century as it involes LIES, DECEPTION, COVER UPS, FRAUD and PROPAGANDA SPIN at its Ruddy Best.
RuddIsACommunist, you are a fool and need help. What drivel. But surely a great indication of the Liberal party, desperate and in denial. Someone take this poor person by the hand and lead away back to the world of oblivion he/she obviously live in.
David1
You are are but a troll propagating the truth. I bet you believe in Global Warming and think that Humans are the cause of it, and that Obama is the new messiah and we should sell out all OZ recources to China for a penny.
YOUR ad hominem does not cover up the reality that Rudd and Swan are GUILTY.
This issue is NOT about an email, it is about the fraud on secret backroom deals and favours and liars covering their ar*ces.
Labour and Kevin ‘bully’ Rude’s private paid PR spin team can put all the smokes and screen diversion tricks up, coz Kevin ‘BULLY’ RUDE knows he is a goner and his reptutation shot…. he cried communist red tears last night, coz his globalist dream of being head of the United Nations Security Council is slippin away 🙂
Rude and his Canberra flat mate of 10 years aka ‘Australian Treasurer’ Wayne Swan are in deep deep trouble over a scandal of favours for business dealings that could see both of them SACKED from Parliament, it has been labled as ‘Utegate’.
In Kevin Rudd’s bid to dodge fire, deflect and confuse the media reporting on the truth, he is firing furfy’s back at the main accuser Turnbull and getting his team to throw curve balls that looks like keystone cops with contradictory statements of fact and fiction.
One of them will go – Kevin Rudd or Wayne Swan.
It may be a dead swan song final curtain call to take the fall for his Kevin bloody Rude.
This is the Scandal of the Century as it involes LIES, DECEPTION, COVER UPS, FRAUD and PROPAGANDA SPIN at its Ruddy Best.
While RuddisACommunist may certainly be a fool but he did get one thing right, this is about lies, deception, cover ups and most excitingly fraud. The Murdoch Press lawyers must be besides themselves and if Malcolm’s gone that would leave Julie in charge of HM opposition(scary thought if you think about it too long). Poor Pete Costello if he’d only waited a week or two more he would have had it all to himself. . .