Key’s loyal retainers are trying to keep him out of the Vance spying scandal. Naturally David Farrar is the most pathetic – Imperator Fish has the last word on that subject (a must read). Turning now to actual journalists, here’s Audrey Young:
Key stands clear of inquiry fallout
Prime Minister John Key is seeking to distance himself from damaging fallout from David Henry’s inquiry into the leak of the GCSB spy agency report, just as his controversial GCSB bill returns to Parliament.
Mr Key has written to the Speaker David Carter to put on the record his disappointment that phone records and swipe card records of the journalist who received the leaked report, Andrea Vance, were handed over to the inquiry that Mr Key’s department commissioned.
And Mr Henry himself weighed in last night to reinforce the statement that he neither requested nor sought the journalist’s phone records. …
Mr Key said in his letter to Mr Carter that on finding out that Parliamentary Service had voluntarily supplied the journalist’s phone records “I was deeply concerned and troubled by this news”.
Sorry Audrey – Key doesn’t get to “stand clear” this scandal, he created it. Remember this, from just 5 days ago?
No action over phone log access attempt
No action will be taken against David Henry for attempting to access phone records of a journalist as he tried to find out who leaked a sensitive report into Government spying, Prime Minister John Key says.
There we have John Key himself acknowledging that Henry requested the Vance phone records (contrary to what Henry is now claiming). This wasn’t a Parliamentary Services “stuff up”. You don’t pass over three months worth of phone records by accident. They were passed over because they were requested by John Key’s enquiry, as he acknowledged above.
However speaking in Korea today Key said he did not believe Henry, a former top public servant brought in to find the leaker, had impinged on any media freedoms and no action would be taken against him.
He said Henry also would be considered for doing future Government reports.
Henry had been asked to carry out an enquiry using terms of reference given to him by the prime minister’ office. Nobody complained about those terms, Key said.
Key set the terms, no one complained (this was all in Key’s office – who the Hell was in a position to “complain”?). Henry was following instructions, nothing to see here, move along.
“He then went out and did his own thing. I wasn’t involved in any of that,” Key said today, adding that he made it clear to Henry that he expected access records to be accessed.
If anyone can work out what that means do let us know.
While no action would be taken regarding Henry’s actions, a different approach might be taken next time.
“Maybe if we go away next time and write another enquiry we’ll be really, really specific in the terms” of reference.
Key said that when the report emerged while he was on a trip to China the media had been “screaming at me” to hold an enquiry because they believed the Government had leaked the report.
This was all done at the direction of Key’s office (Wayne Eagleson –“If you speak to him you speak to me”). They’re trying to throw Parliamentary Services under the bus, but this is Key’s scandal start to finish. Final word to Alistair Thompson in his must read piece today:
But the amount of damage that has been done here should not be underestimated and it will not go away quickly. The Press Gallery will remember this.
Coming on top of the months of obfuscation and outright lying and evasiveness over every aspect of this story from the Kim Dotcom raids and who knew about them when, to the illegal GCSB spying, to the appointment of a child-hood friend of the PM’s as GCSB Director and now the Andrea Vance and Peter Dunne affair – we will remember.
Powered by WPtouch Mobile Suite for WordPress