CHRIS WATTIE/REUTERS
PM Chief of Staff...The Man at the Centre of NAFTA-Gate that could tip the Campaign for Democrats Presidential Nomination in favour of Hillary Clinton..
PM Orders Wider Probe of NAFTA-Gate to Include his Own Office..
Prime Minister Harper refused to heed opposition demand to Fire his Chief of Staff Ian Brodie for what is now known as Nafta Gate.
A document leak last week suggested an Obama adviser told the Canadian government that Obama wasn't serious about his campaign threats to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Allegations of hypocrisy and double-talk rocked Obama's campaign in the final days before the critical Ohio primary, which he lost to Hillary Clinton by a wider-than-expected margin.
It was a key link in a chain reaction set off days earlier when Brodie made some candid comments to journalists in Ottawa last week.
Brodie reportedly downplayed talk by Democratic candidates that they would reopen NAFTA.
According to one source present, he specifically said the Clinton camp had told Canadian officials that her tough talk should be taken with a grain of salt. Brodie says he doesn't recall specifically mentioning Clinton or Obama, but he has not denied the rest of the conversation.
CTV pursued the story from Washington the next day. For reasons that remain unclear, the network wound up focusing its subsequent reports much more heavily on Obama than on Clinton.
When Obama denied such things had taken place, a leaked diplomatic memo surfaced. It contained a written conversation between Obama’s adviser and being interpreted that the Presidential nominee just posturing and not serious about re-opening the NAFTA agreement. The Adviser said the conversation was twisted out of context.
Obama was hounded by the Story and had to cut short a news conference where he was pounded with very aggressive questioning about the leak. The Leak occurred at the eve of Ohio Primary.
Allegations of Hypocrisy and Double Talk rocked Obama campaign during the final days of Ohio Primary which he lost by wider than expected margin to Hillary Clinton..
PM Harper asked Kevin Lynch, the chief of the Privy Council, the most Senior Bureaucrat to led the Probe and said he will take whatever measures Lynch recommends.
The New Democrats said the prime minister's promises of a probe are not good enough. They want Brodie fired, and have lambasted Harper for telling the Commons this week that his chief of staff was not responsible for the leak.
"Will he now apologize to this House, the American people, and Senator Obama, and will he fire his chief of staff?" NDP Leader Jack Layton asked during the daily question period.
"Will the prime minister show some backbone and show Mr. Brodie the door immediately”
Both Leaders of the Oppositions Liberals and New Democrats asked the PM to request the RCMP to Investigate as the leak may have violated the Security and Information Act for leaking of secret diplomatic documents.
Last year, the Mounties hauled a Junior-Level in handcuff for leaking a Climate Change document to the Media, and the Opposition are wondering why the PM would not Publicly ask the RCMP to step for this Nafta-gate which could be a more damaging Leak..
Tory mumbling and fumbling about the NAFTA-Gate Leaks and the Man at the Centre
And for the PM widening Probe read the details PM asked Country’s Top Civil Servant to Led the Probe
