Adscam Scandel: Gomery War Room Funded by Taxpayers

Prime Minister Paul Martin has a taxpayer financed War Room to help him manage Gomery Inquiry public relations. Read the story here:

The Liberal government has set up a war room — at a cost of about $1-million to taxpayers — to handle the fallout from the Gomery commission.

Documents obtained by CanWest News Service through the Access to Information Act reveal the rapid-response war room, which is in almost daily contact with the Prime Minister’s Office and the government’s top bureaucrat, Alex Himelfarb, is operating out of the Privy Council Office.

The cost of the strategic office, which does everything from prepare answers for Question Period in the House of Commons to keeping the PMO abreast of testimony at the inquiry, covers the salaries of staff and expenses.

The Gomery war room and its cost came to light on the heels of last week’s complaints from Judge John Gomery about federal officials exaggerating the cost of his inquiry.

Officials at the commission looking into the sponsorship scandal say the total cost of the actual inquiry will come in under $32-million. Judge Gomery said government officials have “leaked” to the media that it is costing departments another $40-million to cover costs at four key departments, including the PCO.

“It’s an exaggeration and it’s twisting reality,” Judge Gomery said Thursday during the inquiry.

Revelations from the inquiry, which is digging into the $250-million sponsorship scheme, forced the Liberals to put $750,000 into a trust fund to pay back money improperly obtained by the party.

One memo to Mr. Himelfarb indicates the strategy office was set up almost immediately after the Martin government launched the inquiry in February, 2004, upon the release of Auditor-General Sheila Fraser’s damning report on the sponsorship program.

What is so surprising of a Prime Minister, and the Liberal political party who bribes (Flap means convinces) Conservative Party members to switch parties to save themselves from a no-confidence vote?