Speculation is swirling that Premier Jason Kenney, fighting to remain United Conservative Party (UCP) leader, put out a leaked damning audio recording where he labelled his opponents “lunatics” to deflect attention from a more damning media expose..A spokesman for the premier was swift to denounce the unproven allegation that a key Kenney staffer was instructed to release the recording..“The rumour is categorically not true,” Harrison Fleming, spokesman for Kenney’s leadership campaign, told the Western Standard..At issue are two recent separate CBC reports..The first report was published March 23 and headlined ‘Alberta Premier Jason Kenney present for money discussions in sham leadership campaign: witnesses’..The expose delved into Kenney’s personal involvement in 2017 in what has been labelled the “kamikaze” leadership campaign..The CBC report included never before published damning transcripts of interviews conducted by investigators in the Office of the Election Commissioner (OEC), that appear to place Kenney at the heart of the controversy..Kenney has steadfastly denied any involvement in the controversy, but witnesses interviewed by the OEC say that Kenney was physically present at the meeting that planned the campaign..Kenney is now in a fight to hold onto leadership of the UCP..On March 24, the CBC caused a media frenzy when it released a secret recording of Kenney’s comment to staffers in which he said he had to stay on as leader to protect Alberta from a “hostile takeover of our party by fringe elements.”.“I will not let this mainstream conservative party become an agent for extreme, hateful, intolerant, bigoted and crazy views. Sorry to be so blunt with you but you need to understand what the stakes are here,” he said..“The lunatics are trying to take over the asylum. And I’m not going to let them.”.Social media was rife with suspicion that this might have been an intentional leak, as opposed to the work of a disgruntled staffer. .Monday, an anonymous anti-Kenney group — which often reports inside information — sent out a mass email that claimed the “recording was a staged leak.”.“It was orchestrated by Brock Harrison,” it claimed a pseudonym that goes by the name ‘Marshall Hunter”..Harrison is executive director of Communications and Planning in the Office of the Premier..“We have not been able to get a direct link to Kenney, but as a micromanager it is obvious that it came from him to Brock,” read the email..“It was to throw shade on the BOMBSHELL CBC REPORT.”.The claim that Harrison was behind the leak was also made on the Breakdown Twitter account. It is unclear if the tweet was simply echoing claims made by ‘Marshall Hunter’..The RCMP is still investigating irregularities pertaining to the UCP leadership vote in 2017..The announcement on Kenney’s fate this go-round will be made May 18. .Mail-in voting will be held from April 9 to May 11..Slobodian is the Senior Manitoba Columnist for the Western Standard.lslobodian@westernstandardonline.com
Speculation is swirling that Premier Jason Kenney, fighting to remain United Conservative Party (UCP) leader, put out a leaked damning audio recording where he labelled his opponents “lunatics” to deflect attention from a more damning media expose..A spokesman for the premier was swift to denounce the unproven allegation that a key Kenney staffer was instructed to release the recording..“The rumour is categorically not true,” Harrison Fleming, spokesman for Kenney’s leadership campaign, told the Western Standard..At issue are two recent separate CBC reports..The first report was published March 23 and headlined ‘Alberta Premier Jason Kenney present for money discussions in sham leadership campaign: witnesses’..The expose delved into Kenney’s personal involvement in 2017 in what has been labelled the “kamikaze” leadership campaign..The CBC report included never before published damning transcripts of interviews conducted by investigators in the Office of the Election Commissioner (OEC), that appear to place Kenney at the heart of the controversy..Kenney has steadfastly denied any involvement in the controversy, but witnesses interviewed by the OEC say that Kenney was physically present at the meeting that planned the campaign..Kenney is now in a fight to hold onto leadership of the UCP..On March 24, the CBC caused a media frenzy when it released a secret recording of Kenney’s comment to staffers in which he said he had to stay on as leader to protect Alberta from a “hostile takeover of our party by fringe elements.”.“I will not let this mainstream conservative party become an agent for extreme, hateful, intolerant, bigoted and crazy views. Sorry to be so blunt with you but you need to understand what the stakes are here,” he said..“The lunatics are trying to take over the asylum. And I’m not going to let them.”.Social media was rife with suspicion that this might have been an intentional leak, as opposed to the work of a disgruntled staffer. .Monday, an anonymous anti-Kenney group — which often reports inside information — sent out a mass email that claimed the “recording was a staged leak.”.“It was orchestrated by Brock Harrison,” it claimed a pseudonym that goes by the name ‘Marshall Hunter”..Harrison is executive director of Communications and Planning in the Office of the Premier..“We have not been able to get a direct link to Kenney, but as a micromanager it is obvious that it came from him to Brock,” read the email..“It was to throw shade on the BOMBSHELL CBC REPORT.”.The claim that Harrison was behind the leak was also made on the Breakdown Twitter account. It is unclear if the tweet was simply echoing claims made by ‘Marshall Hunter’..The RCMP is still investigating irregularities pertaining to the UCP leadership vote in 2017..The announcement on Kenney’s fate this go-round will be made May 18. .Mail-in voting will be held from April 9 to May 11..Slobodian is the Senior Manitoba Columnist for the Western Standard.lslobodian@westernstandardonline.com
