I woke up to some fascinating news … Toronto’s Mayor Rob Ford is alleged to have been videotaped while smoking crack cocaine:
The U.S. website gawker.com published an article late Thursday alleged it had been offered a video of Ford “smoking crack cocaine” — and the Toronto sellers were hoping to get six-figures for the video.
“First of all, I’ve spoken to the mayor yesterday and secondly, he denies any such allegation,” Ford’s lawyer Dennis Morris told the Toronto Sun Friday.
Morris wasn’t sure if Ford would address the allegations Friday.
“We’ll just have to see how that unfolds,” he said.
Asked if the mayor plans any legal action, Morris said they’re at the “bottom rung of the ladder of anything of that nature now.”
[. . .]
In the wake of the gawker.com story, the Toronto Star published a story Friday morning by two reporters who state they were shown the alleged video earlier this month and alleging Somali drug dealers are shopping the video around.
While I’m far from a Rob Ford fan, I do find this story to be hard to believe. Ford has managed some awesome face-palm moments during his term in office but I can’t credit that any politician would put himself into this kind of situation. Either way, Toronto politics have been much more interesting since Ford was elected.
Update: Here’s the Toronto Star story:
The footage begins with the mayor mumbling. His eyes are half-closed. He waves his arms around erratically. A man’s voice tells him he should be coaching football because that’s what he’s good at.
Ford agrees and nods his head, bobbing on his chair.
He says something like “Yeah, I take these kids . . . minorities” but soon he rambles off again.
Ford says something like: “Everyone expects me to be right-wing, I’m . . .” and again he trails off.
At one point he raises the lighter and moves it in a circle motion beneath the pipe, inhaling deeply.
Next, the voice raises the name of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau. The man says he can’t stand him and that he wants to shove his foot up the young leader’s “ass so far it comes out the other end.”
Ford nods and bobs on his chair and appears to say, “Justin Trudeau’s a fag.”
The man taping the mayor keeps the video trained on him. Then the phone rings. Ford looks at the camera and says something like “that better not be on.”
The phone shuts off.
Update the second: Popehat calls it the “most wonderful legal threat ever”:
Various journalists are claiming they have seen a video of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack.
This led to the most darling legal threat ever from a lawyer named Dennis Morris — who has represented Ford for some time — to Gawker
[. . .]
This is delightful, like that video of the kitten freaking out when it sees a lizard.
First, nobody ever governed themselves accordingly based on a threat from a hotmail account. Second, are you using some sort of comma-based operating system? Third, what the fuck are you talking about?
This sets a high bar.
Guilt by innuendo. And constant attack in the media too. I would sue the butt off the Star and make then prove the allegation as your excerpt of the story actually says it is the mayor, but they cannot show it because they say the price was too high. Funny how the media keeps trying to take down the mayor though, and never apologizing when they lose.
Comment by Dwayne — May 17, 2013 @ 18:17
But, but, but …. nobody in downtown Toronto knows anyone who voted for the guy. The election must have been stolen! As a result, any attempt to nullify the “selection” is right and proper and for the greater good!
I have no idea whether Ford would be a good mayor or not, but with the constant ongoing media circus around his every waking moment, I doubt he’s actually getting to be the mayor very much. As I said in the post, I can’t imagine him actually doing what the latest allegations claim, but we won’t know until/unless the actual video is released.
Comment by Nicholas — May 18, 2013 @ 07:49
If he did it he should resign, only makes sense. But, as always, I feel the media is willing to believe the absolute worst in the “conservative” camp and forgive any transgression in the “progressive” camp. I mean, Jack! caught in a sweep of massage parlors, and no one really gives a poop? Sven of the sticky fingers, and he returns the ring, all is forgiven? And the goofy liberals who lie about “burning crosses on the lawn” etc. Way too much bias the other way. Did you know that a Liberal senator also did the same thing Mike Duffy did? I read one little blurb on that guy, but Duffy is all the news. It also appears that when you have friends in high places with money, who are willing to pay off you outrageous debt, that is a bad thing! I guess not one “progressive” with money would ever consider doing something like that for a friend, so it must be some conservative trick!
Comment by Dwayne — May 18, 2013 @ 09:48
A former Star editor takes issue with the Star‘s decision to publish:
Comment by Nicholas — May 19, 2013 @ 10:12