Winston's $40,000,00 question

In the latest in the Winston Peter's payola scandal, a revelation made on Monday at the privileges committee hearing into Peters secret $100,000.00 donation from Owen Glenn, by Winston Peter's Lawyer Brian Henry, that he paid a $40000.00 debt owed for court costs to Tauranga MP Bob Clarkson and a subsequent statement made by Peters that he had paid the $40000 has today taken a bizarre twist.

Peters has come out this afternoon, as reported in the NBR with this statement:

"Mr Henry paid the money to ensure the bill was paid in time -- and he was later reimbursed by myself," he said in notes for a speech to members of Grey Power's Upper Hutt Branch.
"He checked his records yesterday and found this was indeed the case."

Mr Henry intended to notify the committee, which would effectively debunk claims he had broken Parliament's rules, he said.

"This issue is the last one my opponents had to go on."


This causes Peters an even bigger problem than the initial statement made by Mr Henry on Monday at the hearing, because Peters and Henry had both claimed that for 15 years Peters had a monkey no see, no hear or no listen approach to funding of Peters, and his NZ First Party. Peters claimed that this approach meant he didn't know who gave him money and in addition no bills were ever sent to Peters for legal services rendered.

Apparently records were kept of such a $40000.00 transaction, where no bills were sent and Peters paid this debt himself.

That contradicts Peters and Henry's claim made on Monday that Peters didn't know where money was coming from, where it was going to and that a distance was kept by him in financial transactions between him and his lawyer.

Just an acceptation is this case Winston, or another lie?

Mr Peters was either lying on Monday or lying today to cover up the former one.

The trouble is he has told so many fibs he probably doesn't know himself anymore.

The problem is if you live your life by constantly lying, you have to keep lying to keep the initial lie perpetuated as the perceived truth.

Winston Peters isn't as perfect as he thinks he is and he has now been nakedly caught out.

Unfortunately Both Helen Clark and John Key seem unwilling to come out and lay the political sword into his back, up to the hilt.

New Zealand voters deserve much better.


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