There has been some outstanding blogging on the Conservative operatives offer to a dying independent MP in 2005.

Photobucket connected something Mike Duffy said in what may have been an inadvertent attempt to tone down the damage.

I’m going to throw this in here, because it could prove to be a key point. Duffy was trying to tone down the story, offering up a conversation he had with Cadman, wherein he said he didn’t want to vote against the budget, for fear he would lose his seat in an election and the insurance he had as an MP because of it. Duffy said Cadman was concerned that he would die and his wife would suffer.

What nobody has picked up, Duffy actually connects some dots here. If Cadman was concerned about his insurance as an MP, then it what better way to allay his fears in voting with the Cons, than to offer him assurance on that score. Insurance was on Cadman’s mind, according to Duffy, which puts the offer into complete context.

Mike Duffy may have just put himself in the middle of an RCMP investigation on influence peddling.  His interview with reporter/author Tom Zytaruk  is here.  
On to The Galloping Beaver who give us context.

Duffy reveals a private conversation he had with Chuck Cadman where Cadman expressed that he would not bring down the Liberals because he wanted to make sure that his parliamentary life insurance payout occurred while he was still a sitting MP. Knowing that he was going to die, the insurance was clearly on his mind.

…Cadman’s survivor benefit, unless I have this mistaken, would have been approximately 2 years annual salary as a member of parliament. That would make a $1 million offer more – much more.

This thing is starting to breathe on its own.

Look at what PM Harper said in the house of commons when questioned.

“These allegations are completely false and irresponsible,” Harper said in the House of Commons when Liberal Leader Stephane Dion questioned him about the alleged “immoral, unethical and illegal” offer made by two of his envoys.

The Star has the audio tape of Harper and Zytaruk at Dona Cadman’s driveway in September of 2005, shortly after Chuck Cadman died of cancer.

Liberal MP Garth Turner points out that:

Finley says the two of them made a “last desperate try” to convince Cadman to rejoin the party and vote against the Liberals. Two years later, in his own book, Flanagan admitted to the rashness of this meeting, saying, “It’s an excellent example of how the passion of politics lead to decisions that later make you scratch your head.”

Impolitical has the transcript of Zytaruk’s September interview on Dona Cadman’s driveway here.  The Toronto Star has the audio.

In an interview with the CBC Jodi Cadman, Chuck Cadman’s daughter confirms her mothers statements.

In an interview with CBC News Thursday, Cadman’s daughter, Jodi, corroborated her mother’s story, saying her father discussed the offer with her and her mother because he couldn’t talk about it publicly.

“He just said ‘I have something to tell you,’ and he told me that he was offered a life insurance policy, that my mom and myself would be taken care of,” she told CBC News in Vancouver on Thursday.

“When he told me, actually I have to admit I burst into tears because the position he was put in,” she added, noting it was hard for him to turn down something that would have benefited his family.

But turn it down he did. The statement released by operatives Finley and Flanagan is in my previous post,  as is Dona Cadmans interview; as is the question were is What does Dan Wallace, Chuck Cadman’s legislative assistant have to say? 
He was supposedly in the room when the money and other offers were made.  BigCityLib notes in the comments Dan Wallace was on the CBC Thursday saying he was not in the room at the time.
Update: Susan Riley, Ottawa Citizen quotes Wallace:  “who was I to question what Dona may or may not have said to the author? That is the point I was trying to make.”

I also want to know why the discrepancy in the dates the Conservatives offer up on their Cadman meeting.

An RCMP spokesman said the Mounties had received a Liberal party request to investigate the allegations, and that it would review the letter to determine what, if any, action the force would take.

The motions will be debated Tuesday. Committee chairman Paul Szabo said the matter should be quickly dealt with to protect Parliament’s reputation, even if a criminal investigation proceeds.

This is not about slandering a dead MP, contrary to the Conservative scrambling to spin.  It is an odd, disturbing and sad story. 
Listen carefully at what Chuck Cadman said on camera that fateful day.  Look at his words, the date, his personal concerns.

This is about what The Conservative Party offered Chuck Cadman, a dying man concerned about caring for his family and the legalities of  the Conservative operatives offering a million dollars.

Runesmith notices the disconnect on what Cadman actually said  prior to the vote and  what the Findlay/ Flanagan claim says.
A Blogging Torie perspective – The Politic