Matt Gurney: The Liberals dodged one bullet. There may be others still to comel
Something very interesting happened in Ottawa on Wednesday. Not just the shock twist of the Crown staying the breach of trust charge that had been laid against Vice Admiral Mark Norman. But what was said during and after said staying.
Norman was relieved of duty as Canada’s second-highest-ranking officer in 2017, and charged criminally the next year. But on Wednesday, after months of being savaged by Norman’s defence team, the Crown announced that newly disclosed evidence convinced them there was no prospect of a conviction — that Norman may have acted inappropriately, at times, but not illegally. There will be no trial. Norman’s a free man.
While I’m willing to give the Crown the benefit of the doubt when they say there was no interference, it has to be noted that avoiding a trial is good for the Liberals. The entire case had the feel of an unfolding prosecutorial catastrophe, and it was scheduled to be getting underway just before the fall’s federal vote.
What is reasonably certain, however, is that we’ll be hearing from the admiral, and soon. He’ll have his pick of interviews when he’s ready to speak. And on Wednesday, outside the courthouse, in full view of waiting reporters and news cameras — surely not a coincidence, that — Andrew Leslie, a retired lieutenant-general and former commander of the Canadian Army, met Norman as he headed in to learn his fate. The men hugged and exchanged pleasantries.
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