Andrew Phillips: Conservative obsession with David Johnston a silver lining for Liberals via torontostar
Until this week I naively thought David Johnston’s stumbles and bungles were a big problem for the government that appointed him as “special rapporteur” on foreign meddling in our politics.I now realize that what may have started out as a problem is now actually an advantage. At this point it is, as they say, a feature not a bug.
Which is that the more Johnston stumbled, the more he insisted that he should be trusted, that those personal ties don’t add up to real conflicts of interest, and that the obvious holes in his report don’t much matter, the more it became all about him. In part it’s able to do that because the opposition, quite predictably, went right for the bait dangled so temptingly in front of it. Johnston’s history with the Trudeaus, père et fils, and his connections to the Pierre Trudeau Foundation, are irresistible for the Conservatives in particular, and they can always be counted on to overreach.
That in turn allows the Liberals to take the high road. They’d much prefer we focus on the shoddy treatment meted out to Johnston instead of dwelling on their epic mismanagement of the foreign interference file.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Opinion | Critics are hammering David Johnston, but his most serious wounds are self-inflictedJohnston did himself no favours when he appeared before MPs. His answers helped further the case for a public inquiry, Althia Raj writes.
Read more »
Glavin: China's election meddling — Here's the report David Johnston should have writtenAlliance Canada Hong Kong has meticulously and painstakingly documented Beijing’s strategy of harassment and infiltration in Canada.
Read more »
David Johnston ends relationship with crisis communications firm Navigator in foreign interference probeThe office of the special rapporteur has said it hired Navigator to help with communications around the release of the May 23 report on foreign interference
Read more »
David Johnston no longer working with crisis communications firm Navigator | CBC NewsDavid Johnston, the federal government's special rapporteur on foreign interference, is no longer employing crisis communications firm Navigator after a media report suggested the firm also worked with an MP who was a subject of Johnston’s initial investigation.
Read more »
Special rapporteur David Johnston cuts ties with crisis management firm NavigatorCanada's special rapporteur on foreign interference has ended ties with crisis communications firm Navigator, his office confirmed on Thursday.
Read more »
Politics Briefing: David Johnston no longer retaining services of Navigator communications firmThe office of the special rapporteur has said it hired Navigator to help with communications surrounding the release of the May 23 report on foreign interference
Read more »