A few weeks ago Jasmine MacDonnell, an aide to Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt, left behind some documents at an Ottawa television bureau. In the storm that followed opposition members howled for Raitt’s resignation, but in the end it was Jasmine MacDonnell who lost her job.
SDA commenter batb noted as an aside that Jasmine MacDonnell happens to the daughter of Ralston MacDonell, a prominent fundraiser for Michael Ignetieff, and made the sound point that “you’d think that if your father is a fundraiser for Michael Ignatieff…you might be MORE careful in the carrying out of your duties as communications secretary for a (Conservative) MP.”
You’d think. But today, there’s a new storm: Steve Maher of the Halifax Chronicle Herald apparently got his hand of a tape on which Raitt can allegedly be heard making unflattering remarks about a cabinet colleague. Seems Jasmine MacDonnell forgot to shut the tape off after an interview, and then subsequently, according to CP’s sources, “left her tape recorder in a House of Commons washroom…”
You have to feel sorry for poor forgetful Jasmine MacDonnell, who is now seeking an injunction to prevent release of the tape.
zero comments so far. just as it should be. a nothing story with a nothing end.
If Ms MacDonnell was responsible for leaving a classified binder at CTV, she should take the fall.
I’m going to stay away from the obvious questionof why anyone in government would bring such a document into a media centre in the first place.
Sounds to me that Ms MacDonnell is a Liberano plant.
so what do you expect of someone named ‘Jasmine’…?
“Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action.” – Auric Goldfinger.
The minister needs a better minder.
anybody else notice the world started going to hell when people started naming their kids all these goofy names ?
back when men were called John and women were named Edna and so on there wasn’t the rot and decay we see all round us…dagnabbit…
Correct, John. They should stick to traditional
names like Karl, Vladimir, Adolph, and Josef.
This modern stuff, like Jasmine, which is in
fact old Persian, is just too dang new-fangled.
hey, I resemble that remark!
Canadian politics appear benign so it’s easy to forget that there is just as much at stake in Canadian politics as anywhere else. Lots of government money and jobs to control.
Follow the paper Ktrail.
“”left her tape recorder in a House of Commons washroom…”
http://jaycurrie.info-syn.com/a-wide-stance/
My spidey senses are tingling…
Lisa’s Trojen Horse?
Like FREE, I’m beginning to wonder if Jasmine — whatever happened to names like Jane? — is on the Librano payroll.
This dereliction of duty has more than a whiff of either utter incompetence or guerilla warfare.
How is it, anyway, that the daughter of a Liberal partisan is working as the press secretary to a CPC Cabinet Minister?
There seems to be a lack of criticism about the actions of CTV generally. Things might be looking up though. I have my copy of the National Post, saved for me at the local convenience store, Mondays only.
Finally a reader’s letter decrying the actions of CTV in the matter of the documents left. I believe a well known columnist also did decry the CTV.
Along with the reporter and his “find” I will use old fashioned language about such people. For the proper actions of CTV would have been to put the documents under lock and key. Next phone the appropriate person.
Seems that hardly a few, realise just what the media did.
Unpatriotic Rotters.
The stench emiting over this reeks of you know who, recorders in bathrooms how distasteful. Why would the Minister slagging a coworker be new’s worthy?? The libs appear desperate for a scandal any scandal, would they manufacture one???
“You have to feel sorry… ”
I do? maybe a little schadenfreude…
Standard Response Protocol:
1. Blame it on media bias – check
2. Blame it on the Liberals – check
3. Attack the non-conservative messengers of any sort – check
4. Deny there is “any connection to the matter” with the PMO (be very precise here for the sake of plausible deniability, don’t say “the government” or “the Conservative Party”) – check
5. If one of our own – like with Riddell, Casey, Stronach, Turner, etc. – say they were always a Liberal in disguise or a Liberal plant – check
6. Start talking about the sponsorship scandal and Chretien’s promise to eliminate the GST – pending
Typical of the right wing conservatives to imagine some sort of Liberal conspiracy, how else would they be able to explain the true ineptitude of Minister Raitt. If Harpo had any balls he’d have fired her by now. Just wait and see what vitriolic statements she has made on tape. The documents proved that the government was not telling the truth about Chaulk River. Time to send Harpo to the opposition benches.
Great comment Ted, right on the mark.
Hire a “liberal spawn” and you deserve what you get.
Incomprehensible!
Ted, buddy:
Um, your employee “forgets” your sensitive file at a major media newsroom, and then the same employee tapes you slagging a colleague and then unwittingly leaves that tape recorder in a public washroom. Now, where you work, Ted, this may well be standard operating procedure, but after incident one, if I were the employee in question, I’d be making damn sure that no other mishaps occurred.
So I’d appreciate if you could explain to all of us, in detail, how exactly, one leaves a tape recorder in a public washroom? Do you take the recorder out of your purse before you use the facilities or after? Do you take the recorder out because you needed to root around in your bag for toiletries, and just forget to return it? And finally, if it’s left in a woman’s washroom, why does a male reporter get his hands on it?
I’m a fairly intelligent person, and I can’t see any plausible explanation for the turn of events, but I’m sure you can enlighten me…
(probability of intelligent answer – small, and approaching zero)
I see the desperate leftards are clinging to all that is left to resort to; clandestine ‘bathroom’ tapes and documents left behind by “liberal spawn”. LOL!
Oooh can’t wait for an election!
I can see Count Igg-ula’s ‘attack ads’ now:
“I’m for the coalition. I’m against the coalition.
I’m a Canadian. I’m an American.
I’ll raise taxes. I won’t raise taxes.
I’m against asbestos exports. I’m for asbestos exports.
I’m ok with Israel’s actions. I declare Israel of being guilty of war crimes.
I believe Ruby Dhalla. I’m not disagreeing with what the caregivers have said.
I will “mess” with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. I wont’ “mess” with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
I want more money to stimulate the economy. At the same time I complain they are spending too much money.
I lie. I lie.”
No policy, no ideas, same old corrupt discredited dogma.
The lesson is that if you have lived away from the country for a generation, have said unfortunate things, and your business card says, “Public Intellectual” then you might want to display that intellect by sharing your ideas on how to make Canada a better place.
Then you’ll actually have some credibility when you say that this debate should be about ideas.
Laughable.
It’s amazing the amount of things the Liberal war room finds in public shitters.
Syncro
“Lisa’s Trojen Horse?”
Wow. That Ignatieff sure is brilliant. Harper may have been a chessmaster against Dion’s checkers, but Ignatieff must be playing three dimensional Vulcan chess! Imagine the foresight to get a Liberal hired 5 years ago, get the Conservatives to promote her and promote her until she was a Director of Communications for the Minister of Natural Resources, get Garth Turner defeated in favour of Conservative Raitt, get Harper to appoint the rookie MP as a cabinet minister, convince (drug??? hmmmm) the Minister into confiding in you for the better part of a year, AND THEN contrive a shutdown of the Chalk River nuclear facility (which a year ago would have been called a life and death situation but now is just concerning for the Conservatives) just so Raitt will have to go on CTV for an interview.
But it doesn’t stop there. No, no. Ignatieff’s brilliance doesn’t stop there.
He not only managed to convince Raitt that she needed to take her secret briefing binder with sensitive, damning and controversial information to that press interview, he also was able to convince (drugs? hmmmmm) the minister “responsible” not to wonder where her briefing binder happened to be for an entire week. AND ONLY THEN did he unleash phase 1 of his sinister subterfuge and get his mole – the one so well placed that no one even suspected and everyone trusted – to fall on her sword for the good of the Conservative Party so she could go running to the media, er, no… so she could kick start phase 2 of Ignatieff’s sinister subterfuge and “forget” a tape in the washroom (yes, that old cliche).
One might have thought that it would have been better to keep such a well planted and well hidden mole… well planted and well hidden, leaking damaging information over time. One might have thought that the Liberals would have had their mole leak all or even a teensy tiny bit of that damning information about Conservative overspending and attempts to hide the overspending from the public earlier than this – like during the election, the “coalition”, the budget, the “on probation” campaign, or any other time that would have been more damaging.
But of course those are logical and reasonable thoughts which never fit into tin foil hat conspiracy theories.
My question – if this tape was left in a public “woman’s washroom” in Ottawa – how did “Steve” whoever in Halifax get this tape? Something is just not right here…. How did the daughter of a Iggy Liberal fundraiser (and a big one at that!)get the job for a Consrvative Minister? Maybe she was there before, and could not be fired!
So, Ted, how about dealing with the facts, which are very clear:
Jasmine’s dad is a prominent fundraiser for Michael Ignatieff, PMSH (and the CPC’s) chief political rival.
Jasmine, as the Honourable Lisa Raitt’s press secretary, has now, TWICE, in only a few weeks, left sensitive documents/tapes in very public places, both of which have the potential of severely compromising, certainly embarrassing, her boss.
CTV did not take the honourable route and call Lisa Raitt’s office to report the missing document but held onto it for a week, and then broke the story, designed to cause the most damage to Minister Raitt. Robert Fife was gleeful in his priggish self-righteousness.
So, it would appear on the face of things that:
* blaming CTV — aren’t they part of the media? — for their questionable judgment does check out.
* blaming, presumably, Liberal supporter Jasmine MacDonnell does check out. Is she NDP? Is she a Green Party member? Is she a member of the CPC or the Bloc Quebecois? Can you prove that her appalling incompetence isn’t in any way related to her family’s Liberal sympathies?
As for the other things on your checklist, I don’t resemble your remarks.
Ms. MacDonnell’s inexcusable ineptitude which some might say is just random carelessness doesn’t pass the smell test.
Motive and malice might be involved.
I lost all respect for people when they started naming their kids after the capitals of US states and other geographical entities.
Madison (Wisc), Albany (NY),Brittany (France)
Savannah (Ga),etc.
I’m waiting for them to name their kids Butte (Mn), Topeka (Ks), Vladivostok, Lansing (Mi) and Carson City (Ne).
As long as people don’t start naming their kids
after the fourth president of the United States
of America, Atric(?), I think we’ll be ok.
Let’s watch to see where Jasmine MacDonnell turns up next.
If it’s in the employ of the Liberals, the CBC, or any of the other Canadian media, we’ll pretty well know that MacDonnell’s antics were a set up. Whatever happens, Jasmine MacDonnell’s credibility is in the basement.
I respectfully ask commenters to not respond, except perhaps in passing, to Ted. He consistently — and not just on this thread — composes standard-issue, stereotyping, dumb arguments to put in his imaginary opponents’ mouths, and then he responds, in effect, to himself.
There’s no solid grounds at this point for accusing Ralston of anything but egregious, flapping-on-the-poles, bald-assed ineptitude. So don’t take Ted’s bait, please, or pull on the other end of the proverbial rope.
I stand by the wisdom of batb’s original comment, that “you’d think that if your father is a fundraiser for Michael Ignatieff…you might be *MORE* careful in the carrying out of your duties as communications secretary for a CPP MP.”
Verily. I think that’s the point here, that Ms. Ralston’s profoundly careless behaviour opens her up to suspicions.
Hey, let’s have a contest: let’s see how many comments can go by without any reference to Ted.
Looks like Jasmine MacDonnell’s Liberal fundraising Dad is still having “issues” with government fund boondoggles. I found some that started with ports contracts in 2001 where conservatives were raking him over the coals.
The more I read about him the more it becomes apparent that Jasmine’s Dad has a very personal vested interest in getting rid of the Conservatives and installing his “friends” – the Liberals.
No tinfoil hats needed to connect a few dots here.
This one is quite recent:
Going… going… gone! $1,000,000-plus missing from economic development fund
from Shelburne County Today
Nov 22 2007
Excerpts:
Team Shelburne will never see Boy’s School money, says SWSDAIn a stunning revelation by the attorneys for South West Shore Development Authority (SWSDA) and its CEO Frank Anderson.
Observers were told Thursday in a Yarmouth courtroom that as much as $1,000,000 or more of proceeds from the Shelburne Youth Centre (Shelburne Place) has disappeared into the general fund of SWSDA and is unlikely to be recovered.
Attorney Reuben Dexter, told the court that documents he recently got from SWSDA indicate that “monies may have been spent on all kinds of improper things.” (see Follow the money below)
The hearing Thursday was part of an action for fraudulent conveyance of funds and breach of trust brought by OPI against SWSDA, CEO Frank Anderson, Ralston MacDonnell, the Shelburne Area Industrial Commission, all municipal bodies in the county and CVN Holdings, which holds the mortgage for Shelburne Place.
http://nsrtk.blogspot.com/2007/11/going.html
Are they making up for Dion’s do over, do over do over? If it was wrong to release the do over, do over, do over then how does this meet acceptability. Cursed memory it craves sense. They should ask Special K..isn’t he an expert on bathroom etiquette?
If it walks like a duck,…
sgt Legaune
I prefer “W’s” vesion: “…fool me twice, well, you can’t fool me again.
How much it opens her up to suspicions, EBD,
depends at this point on how suspicious one is
(pardon the double entendre, it’s not intended).
I lean away from the conspiracy theory.
Unless the Liberals have promised a veritable truckload of comfy fur and entitlements I would suggest Jasmine MacDonnell is merely an incompetent serial bungler.
Gaining admission this early in life to the Maxime Bernier Pantheon of Fools would truly redefine “taking one for the team”.
She’s just a goof-up.
On the evidence, I’m very suspicious.
Even the optics aren’t good …
Oh, I wouldn’t say you are that suspicious,
Batb. Ouch, ouch, hey, stop hitting me 😉
It’s all too fishy. Conservative aide just happens to “forget” secret documents in a media outlet.
PPG’s just happen to make it public after about a week and after having read it and plotted their course. That would be INSTEAD of returning it to the the person they know damned well who left it unread.
Now we hear they have a tape recording. Somebody had to be aiding and abetting the Media/Opposition, this is all too, too much to believe it’s down to someone just forgetting documents and just forgetting to turn off a tape.
Bullshit.
The Conservative Minister, Lisa Raitt appears to be a target, this is all too damned contrived to believe.
Someone should be charged in this case. Finding government papers doesn’t give the media hacks the right to read them or publicize them. Anyone in private life who opens and reads mail not addressed to them is not considered to be an upstanding, trustworthy person. Why is it accepted in government?
Judging by comments at sites in the blogosphere,
Liz, a lot of people are charged in this case.
I thought you were supposed to wash your hands in bathrooms not pick up souvenirs.
Maybe you deserve it, Vitruvius … 😉
Maybe she made some racist remark about the other minister. That’s the only thing that would bring her down.
Maybe she passed the Port the wrong way.
David Akin on MacDonnell’s latest screw up:
[begin quote]
Canwest News Service has also learned that senior officials in the Prime Minister’s Office were briefed on the contents of the tape last week.
“It’s all bad,” said one government source with knowledge of the contents of the tape.
The person who made the recording, according to government sources speaking on condition of anonymity, is Jasmine MacDonnell, Raitt’s former director of communications. They believe MacDonnell accidentally recorded Raitt when Raitt and MacDonnell were candidly assessing the capabilities and qualities of other cabinet ministers, including the prime minister.
[end quote]
Comments one left-leaning blogger, Jennifer Smith (http://runesmith.blogspot.com/):
“I’m still not sure how one ‘accidentally’ records a conversation, then ‘accidentally’ loses the recording, after having been fired for ‘accidentally’ losing a briefing book. But I’m sure we’ll be finding out really, really soon.”
Or not.
and 99.9% of Canadians couldn’t give a flying foo-foo about outraged Liberals and chortelling Teds & other various Lieberal’s faux honesty.
It is summer, beer is important, BBQ’s are important, the beach is important.
Nobody gives a crap about inside the ballpark Parliament Hill bathroom shenanigans.
Now if there had been some swastikas found painted on a bathroom wall somewhere on the Hill, that would be important – to someone, somewhere.
If it turns out that the aid arranged for the tape to be picked up or it was arranged by others for her to make it and leave it for pick up there are some very serious laws being broken that we usually associate with secret service agencies.
Maybe she made up the tape by splicing together various segments
from the recording her secret CSIS lover bribed the RCMP to obtain.
Can we really even imagine just how far desperation for power has reached for the Liberals? Is there any line they won’t cross?
With all of this, we are a democracy but dealing with people who are willing to use banana republic tactics to grab power.
Word has it the U Of T Sociology Department is offering Urinal 101…..an in depth course that explores the culture, motivation and and political inclination of bathroom graffiti artists and treasure hunters.
Professor Kinsella brings his considerable gravitas to the subject as well as challenging other bathroom hunters to “get in there up to your elbows”.
Inspirational, really.
Syncro
Joking aside, Vitruvius … this is serious.
If nothing else — and, actually, there’s a whole lot more to this — she has compromised the (perhaps misplaced) trust her employer/boss put in her.
If I were MacDonnell, I’d be shi**ing bricks about what this means for her future … unless, of course, there’s a “payoff” somewhere in Librano-land or the Canadian MSM.
I’ll be waiting with baited breath to see where this lands her.