EXCLUSIVE BREAKING NEWS: Erik Bornmann Didn’t Meet Christy Clark at the Helijet or Anywhere Else: He was Her Friend and Knew Where BC Rail was Headed–From Her!

Recall if you will how in the winter of last year, when I was releasing ‘The Basi Files’, the howls of indignation from Christy Clark’s people had hit a crescendo. Her circle of influence was cacophonous; if they could have lynched me for showing the deep connection between Christy Clark, Dave Basi and Bobby Virk (he was her legislative assistant from 1996-1999–a fact few have reported), for example, they would have.

But it was all there, someone just needed to connect the dots.

Then, when I started releasing documents (THAT WERE ALREADY PRESENTED IN OPEN COURT BY BOTH THE CROWN AND THE DEFENCE) from the ‘Basi-Virk’ trial–leaked to me by neither Basi nor Virk, but by a fully independent source who neither knows them nor would care to (my source actually dislikes both of them very much), this set the Special Prosecutor’s Office into almost immediate motion. After an extremely pleasant and informative first meeting with the RCMP (at my request), including with two of the ‘Everywhichway’ investigators, who provided great perspective on questions I had, the Special Prosecutor’s Office had them “invite” me back (to a second meeting) except this time for a grilling that while at times robust, was ultimately fair (I will happily rot in jail before I’ll give up my source, that’s the gist of what I told them).

All the while, Ms. Clark insisted that Bornmann and other major players in this sordid BC Rail mess were simply distant consultants to her, not close friends–a complete lie that she repeated on ‘The Mike Smyth Show’ twice and on Global TV. She  just “ran into them at the Helijet.” When I revealed the close relationship Bornmann had with her and her now ex-husband Mark Marrisen (including many dinners at their former home and one infamous toga party for Marissen’s birthday), she became even more shrill. “(Tsakumis) has a poltiical agenda.” she deflected. “Those are just documents on the Internet,” she exclaimed.

The very same documents that the Special Prosecutor’s Office authenticated as real by strenuously objecting to my releasing them to you–the people to which those documents really belong.

It couldn’t have been more clear–the Special Prosecutor’s Office was driving the objection, NOT the RCMP: Anymore disclosure information from me and I might be charged with contempt, resulting in a stint in jail. The position of the Office of the Special Prosector (as explained to me by Andi McKay) was abundantly clear then.

Well, it’s been some months and after a significant think on my own and lengthy legal opinions, I have the following to offer–follow the narrative very carefully.

The powers that don’t want this information out there have already made it clear what they will try to do to me, but I am unfazed.

I gather Webster, Bannerman, Burns or Boyd would have felt the same way. I sure know Rafe does.

Let’s begin.

I believe every single last piece of evidence, particularly where it pertains to disclosure evidence presented in court should be immediately released to the public. Transcripts, in particular, are matters of public record. Why would there be an objection to anything discussed in open court? The courts are there to protect a just society, not confound her. Are we an open democracy? When some other, inaccurate, and more gossip-centered BC Rail only bloggers stepped into the breach with the phrase, “the banana republic of British Columbia” I took offense.

But now I’m really starting to wonder if I shouldn’t have provided them more latitude on that point. Read on.

Recently, when Mike Mulligan, lawyer for NDP MLA Leonard Krog (also a lawyer) received the now infamous four-binder package that the Special Prosecutor wants me to believe Jim Beatty of CTV knew to ask for, Mulligan did so “without restrictions.” Of course, you all remember: This is the four binders of material that the Special Prosecutors swear up and down Beatty and Globemedia targeted and wanted–and nothing else (who tipped Beatty off to ask for just that???). It’s the package they shamefully and falsely declared “exonerated” Christy Clark, one week before the BC Liberal leadership vote.

Well, today on the morning of the 2011 BC Liberal Caucus Retreat in Harrison, you’ll see just how utterly false it was for CTV Vancouver to claim that this material “exonerates” Christy Clark. It was one-sided and entirely slanted. When you see a more complete picture, of additional material here, you should write them and call them to complain. The omissions are stunning. They couldn’t have happened by accident. Christy Clark wasn’t “exonerated.”

Far from it, the information you will see here for the first time ever, will once and for all, show how in Erik Bornmann’s own hand, Clark was his source for all sorts of confidential Cabinet information–a stunning revelation which should have members of the beleaguered BC Liberal caucus asking some very hard questions of their current leader.

For, if she couldn’t be trusted when she was Deputy Premier, how the hell do you trust her now that she is Premier?

You will also see the names of the people Bornmann spent most of his time with while a partner with Pilothouse Public Affairs, a PR firm he shared with Brian Kieran and later, with long-time Clark friend and supporter, Jamie Elmhirst (a minor partner, but major player). Every single last one of them is a strong supporter of Christy Clark to this day, and the vast majority of them played significant roles in not long ago electing her Premier.

And, you will wonder how on earth the RCMP could have possibly taken Bornmann’s twisted statement and made him the star witness, AFTER he had his apartment searched (I’ll provide you with some details of that too and a very interesting aside about Aneal Basi). Considering the statements he made, you’ll wonder what story Bornmann eventually concocted to make the lie become the truth.

You’ll also be able to compare Bornmann’s thoughts, when he was a free-bird, while collecting sensitive Cabinet information from then Deputy Premier Christy Clark and using that to further his client, OmniTRAX, and accordingly swell his wallet–and quite successfully so.

But there is also (unsurprisingly) a HUGE rebuke to the media in all of this. No one has filed for any other disclosure materials. No transcripts (I’ll get to those shortly), nothing. Just the infamous, “hookers and blow” evidence that allegedly had Dave Basi arranging a prostitute for a friend (you can do that by opening up the yellow pages or some community papers) and calling for some all-night party powder. This material was the most salacious and sensational. No one asked for anything else, not even the NDP, dense as they have been in not keeping this most scandalous matter in the public eye, asked for the transcripts. After all, that’s all the information that was read into court. It’s public–it belongs TO YOU. Bill Tieleman of 24 Hours and The Tyee wrote about it. Neal Hall of The Vancouver Sun did too. As did Kevin Fraser of The Province, plus Mark Hume and Gary Mason of The Globe and Mail.

To provide you with some perspective on just how absurd the position of the Special Prosecutor’s Office is on some of this material: The evidence I have released in the past–and today, has all been covered in open court, it’s just that no one has ever given you some of specific details as they were presented. The OSP objects to the release of this material, but the material about hookers and drugs–which is hyped up nonsense, is perfectly fine to release, even though it was NEVER covered in court in any kind of detail. Incidentally, Basi’s alleged comments about the performance the the “hooker” in question was to a friend that had nothing to do with BC Rail and the girl wasn’t a hooker.

Does this makes sense to anyone? Does the OSP’s position make any sense at all? They don’t object to salacious, unproven allegations going public about the defendants (Janet Winteringham even went out of her way to comment on the CTV propaganda piece), but if I release any information that was already covered in over 100 days disclosure hearings and various court applications IN OPEN COURT–the courtroom that belongs to you, the people, then this is bad and I should be reprimanded. Unbelievable.

What you will read below is part of that information and contains statements by Erik Bornmann in his own words, some information from his diary that further shows Christy Clark as the persistent leaker of Cabinet information, to at a least Bornmann, Kieran and later Elmhirst (they all shared it). And finally I will tell you what you might not know about Aneal Basi–a significant player who is all but forgotten. It became a matter of public record but neither the media nor anyone else has offered it to the public, who I submit, have the right to know what happened to a billion dollar asset; the asset value of which was imputed by friends of former Premier Gordon Campbell to eventually sell to yet another friend of the former Premier. This much is obvious as after an extensive review, I’m satisfied of how a company that makes money for 18/21 years is not a loser that needs to be sold.

More to the point, I don’t have the actual court documents in my possession and won’t be releasing them to you, so as to be extra-respectful and not to frustrate the order of Madam Justice Anne MacKenzie, who during in a hearing on February 16th., 2011 (order posted March 15th., 2011) demanded the following:

• the return of any and all Stinchcombe evidence and or application materials from the respondents (Basi, Virk and Basi) and/or their counsel (Joe Doyle, Kevin McCullough and Michael Bolton).

• counsel for the defence acknowledging the disclosure materials and return of documents.

• that counsel deliver all materials (and related materials) AND provide statutory declarations that warrant the files returned and any notes or ancillary files destroyed.

There were other statements which were also germane to the return of all documents related to ‘Basi-Virk’ that in my view do not affect me–as I am not a party to the action and have never received information from the defence or anyone connected to them. However, this is NOT the position of the OSP. They believe the judge’s words were clear, in letter and spirit: Anyone with those documents must return them or destroy them. Therefore, even though I have access to copies of the disclosure packages (I recently drove many hours to view the documents again–at a private location with my source) I destroyed any and all documents I had in my possession after Madam Justice MacKenzie’s decree. For today, I will simply give you a verbatim account (from notes I made in the last week but have now destroyed) word for word, from the documents entered into court (documents I viewed, but left behind, when I was with my source): A diary kept by Erik Bornmann from 2002 and 2003; a statement from the RCMP, detailing the raid of Erik Bornmann’s apartment, including a breathtaking revelation made by Bornmann about Aneal Basi and finally a stunning statement written by Erik Bornmann, which details the clear involvement of Gordon Campbell in personally directing the sale of BC Rail to CN, a company helmed by his friend and bagman, David McLean.

From Erik Bornmann’s March 2002 diary:

Lunch with Dave Basi (ask about Christy intel) 12:15pm.

Dinner with Christy Clark (Port Moody) 6:30pm

And again one month later from the same diary:

Lunch with Dave and Bob 1pm

Dinner with Christy (BCR/Cabinet intel) 6pm

Remember that this was early stages yet in the disposal of BC Rail, and according to Bornmann’s hand -written notes, Clark knew something of Cabinet intel that she would eventually forward to Bornmann.

By the time a year had passed, the information line from Clark to Bornmann had gone from a steady stream to a burst dam.

From Erik Bornmann’s April 2003 diary:

Cabinet Mtng. Update:

Judith (Reid): maximize value/otherwise problems–convinced more regulations needed with sale.

Against: Gary (Collins) Christy (Clark)

Shirley Bond: said nothing.

Action Items:

• constituency offices

• Northern Liberal Convention stakeholders

(Christy says this is all about CN/more info to come)

And then the intel starts to heat up…

From Erik Bornmann’s June 2003 diary:

BC Rail Comm Mtng.

(Christy info)

CN intimidation/ Chris Trumpey = Victoria source (unnamed)/ Mahoney – Shippers Transportation Mtng. Negotiating team: Issue may come up in Cabinet on July 23rd.

Cabinet Allies: Clark and Reid.

And from the same diary entry month:

Kinsella for BCR: Patrick to consult MLAs to find out who in your community should BCR be talking to about the future. Randy Wood waiting with organization…..

And from September 2003:

From Erik Bornmann’s diary:

Good news (from Christy): BCR was discussed at Cabinet. A lot of people upset. Gary, Northern Mayors, Neufeld (N. Thomp) and Christy.

Falcon, Thorpe and Barisoff worried.

Campbell–”leave it with me”

Caucus members won’t talk about BCR in caucus.

And here is a list of Bornmann’s ‘Christy” contacts list. Most of them he saw on a regular basis, including Bruce Clark, Christy’ Clark’s brother and Mark Marissen, her former husband.

In brackets, I provide you their latest involvement with Clark.

Bruce Clark (high level strategist and bagman in her campaign to be Premier)

Mark Marrisen (senior strategist in her campaign to be Premier–the architect of her win)

James Hatton (advisor to Clark in her campaign to be Premier and wrote a character reference for Erik Bornmann’s good character hearing before the LSUC)

Karn Manhas (former MLA, advisor to Clark in her campaign to be Premier and wrote a character reference to the LSUC in support of Bornmann)

Ann Wicks (runs the government appointments branch for the BC Govt – volunteer/worker for Clark in her campaign to be Premier)

Kim Haakstad (senior advisor to Clark campaign for Premier and now Deputy Chief of Staff)

Mike Witherly (long-time supporter of Clark and former partner of Mark Marrisen)

Stacey Shields (wrote a supportive letter, ON PNE LETTERHEAD to the LSUC in support of Bornmann’s good character/campaign supporter of Clark for Premier)

As you can plainly see, when Clark told Global TV‘s Marisa Thomas she bumped into Bornmann and others “at the Helijet” that this was a complete and total fabrication. Christy Clark was a serial leaker of sensitive Cabinet information to a PR consultant, her friend Erik Bornmann. This greatly assisted Bornmann in continuing to bill his client, OmniTRAX, for services rendered, but also, gave him a privileged look inside Cabinet–with information provided to him by none other than the woman who currently sits as Premier of this province.

Now, Bormann wasn’t always as creative and accommodating as his star witness statement to the police. On the day his apartment in the West End was raided, he was floored by the four RCMP officers standing at his door.

According to the RCMP report, Bornmann was provided an opportunity to seek legal counsel but couldn’t, so a call to legal aid was arranged by the lead officer during the raid. When he was asked if he was satisfied post-call, Bornmann replied ‘No!’  because the dimwitted lawyer on the line thought the section he was being charged under was related to child pornography (which he was never, ever accused of). But in the bizarre series of discussions with the officers present, some cancelled cheques to Aneal Basi were found. Substantial enough cheques that Bornmann was asked first if Aneal was related to Dave and then what the cheques were for. Bornmann’s (stunning) reply was that Aneal was somehow related to Dave Basi, but that Aneal was a “legitimate contractor.”

Hence, my immediate questions: When did Aneal Basi become a launderer, and how on earth could the RCMP have taken Bornmann at his word when they declared him their star witness? When he’s busted, for Bornmann Aneal Basi is a legitimate contractor but when Bornmann sings the song the RCMP like, Aneal Basi is the anti-Christ. Simply outrageous–and begs for a full inquiry into this scandalous mess. It also makes you wonder how much pressure was put on these three men, Basi, Virk and Basi to walk away with a king’s ransom.

Finally, here is an entire passage written by Bornmann, in his own hand, in a 2003 briefing book he kept in his desk.

Under the previous page’s heading of “Christy Cabinet intel” comes this breathtaking narrative.

“The Premier (Gordon Campbell), even prior to the last election never wavered from an intent to sell BCR to CN.

[Tax backgrounder] The attraction of BCR to CN.

Since the fall of 2001, the government has quietly been making preparations for the sale of BCR to CN (more on this to follow).

However, based on the feedback from the Northern communities, that as a minimum demanded the province retain ownership of the BCR track…the Premier committed in a province-wide, televised address that the province would retain ownership of the track.

The Premier did not check with his associates at CN who cannot take advantage of the great tax windfall BCR represents if the province retains ownership of the track. Nor can CN truncate the line to squeeze our those long efficiencies that drive CN’s acquisition strategy.

The reality was communicated to the Premier by CN’s Chair and longtime supporter David McLean and CN’s BC lobbyist Pat Kinsella in Victoria during a face-to-face meeting in March.

Ever since, the Premier has been backtracking on his commitment–ownership of the tracks has become “right of way” –no ownership at all, a mere charge against the property.

Ask the Premier which it is, will he reiterate his commitment that he made on province-wide television that the province will retain ownership of the track (?)

Now do you see what I’ve been saying all along?

There are too many outstanding questions for this entire affair not to go before a judicial inquiry. Inconsistencies with the RCMP investigation, too close a relationship between Special Prosecutor Bill Berardino and the government, and entirely over-the-top coddling of the trial materials and multiple inside parties citing Gordon Campbell as the chief architect of the sale of BC Rail to company owned by one of his closest friends.Plus, Kinsella was a contractor for BC Rail AND CN at the same time???

And lest we forget the list of revolving BC Rail characters close to the current Premier and the need for the Clark camp to unscrupulously hide those close relationships to her (by manipulating campaign finance disclosure rules)–as they did when they didn’t include David McLean’s FREE plane rides.

Most glaringly, though, Christy Clark LIED to the people of this province, betrayed her oath of Cabinet secrecy and is clearly unfit to serve.

This much is absolutely true.

So, will the exponentially growing discontent in BC Liberal caucus be cause for a coup at anytime soon? You’ll read about that tomorrow.

A happy retreat to the Premier and her colleagues…with my compliments.