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Interesting Campbell Live last night. I hope for their sake that they've got some evidence for the thinly-veiled implication that the PM was... less than truthful in his claim that he'd not even heard of Kim Dotcom until the day before the raid.
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Even more Banks corruption suggestions
The latest developments came as Banks admitted he had dinner at the home of former Natural Dairy boss Jack Chen with bankrupt May Wang - who are now facing corruption charges in Hong Kong.
A source close to Banks' mayoralty campaign team believed Chen had offered up to $50,000 at the dinner.
Banks says he did not recall either Chen or Wang "offering to give him support or a donation".
(I can't find a primary source for this admission).
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Not sure if RNZ has posted the complete interview audio...
(I couldn't find it).It's here though:
http://thestandard.org.nz/resignationwatch-oopsie/. -
Audio of the backdown story is up.
It contains some of the original interview:
Mary Wilson (Checkpoint): [... In that interview I asked Mr. Simmons if he had asked Mr. Banks if he had received donations from Mr. Dotcom, and he had this to say:]
Chris Simmons (ACT President): “Not in that direct manner. I’ve asked him, ah, about the process that they used...”
MW: “Why didn’t you ask him directly?”
CS: “Well, he’s told me that that was an anonymous donation...”
MW: “But he knew that they were going to be $25,000 – split into two lots – or $50,000 split into two lots.”
CS: “No; that was one of the suggestions he made to, ah, Dotcom...”
MW: “Do you know why he made that suggestion?”
CS: “He has given me an indication as [to] why he made that suggestion, and that was that he initially, ah, was going to put in 25,000 of his own money, and he figured that other people should be putting in the same sort of, ah, numbers. That’s what he’s looking for.
RNZ's political editor Brent Edwards says
... Mr. Simmons rang me within minutes, really, of that interview airing on Radio New Zealand, and said he was completely mistaken; that he has never discussed with Mr. Banks specifically the matter of whether Mr. Dotcom gave him money or not or how it might have been split up. He said he was trying to refer more generally to how, under the Electoral Act, the local body candidates can approach people and ask for money, but that he hasn't actually specifically discussed Mr. Dotcom's donation with Mr. Banks in that way...
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source?
Sorry. Thought it would be everywhere in a few minutes.
John Banks denies asking Kim Dotcom to split a $50K donation so it could remain anonymous.
I'm not sure he did though, did he?
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ACT president Chris Simmons confirms that Banks told him that he (Banks) asked Dotcom to split the $50k donation.
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Stuff: Banks, Williamson picked to stand down.
Online predictions market iPredict has ACT leader John Banks and National MP Maurice Williamson both being stood down as ministers by May 15...
Personally, I think the iPredicters are totally wrong about Williamson (had him to go at over 97 cents last night!), but an interesting headline, nonetheless.
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Graeme,
To what extent, if any, is the Prime Minister obligated to abide by the Cabinet manual? -
Graeme,
To what extent, if any, is the Prime Minister obligated to abide by the Cabinet manual? -
ODT: Splitting hairs over ethics and legality not a good look for PM
There is the letter of the law, there is the spirit of the law and there is intent. Like the Prime Minister, I'm no lawyer but it seems to me most ordinary people do not have a high opinion those who behave with questionable intent to flout the spirit of the law, yet whose actions might not contravene the actual letter of it.
