B.C.'S TOP COP SHOULD ZIP BOTH LIPS ON THE LEGISLATURE-RAIDS FILE

With the wraps still on the legislature search warrants, the NDP is keeping
up the heat on the Gordon Campbell government to release as much as they
know about the police raids.

Yesterday, NDP opposition leader Joy MacPhail released a letter to Campbell
demanding more information about the mysterious raids.

Specifically, MacPhail is zeroing in on the weird handling of the file by
Solicitor-General Rich Coleman, the province's top law-enforcement officer.
As the top cop, Coleman knows more than anyone else in the government about
the case.

Why did Coleman give Campbell advance warning, one week before the raids,
that something big was about to go down? What exactly did Coleman tell
Campbell when he briefed the premier by phone about the raids while
Campbell was in Hawaii?

Coleman and Campbell insist they only talked about the barest details of
the case -- nothing more than the police have already said publicly.

MacPhail is demanding proof that their conversations didn't go any further.

"If indeed the purpose and content of those calls was simply to inform,
then one would expect they would have been cursory -- a minute or two at
most," MacPhail wrote. "A call that took longer than one minute or two
minutes does raise the possibility that much more was said than was
previously understood. I am asking you today that you release all phone
logs detailing the times, dates and length of conversations between
yourself and the solicitor-general."

There was no official response from the premier's office to the letter
yesterday, but I can safely predict that there's no way MacPhail will get
access to Campbell's phone logs.

MacPhail knows that. The point of her cheeky letter is to make the
government squirm and to raise suspicions. Why? Because even Liberal
insiders are quietly admitting that Coleman hasn't handled this one very well.

Why did Coleman also brief Campbell's chief-of-staff, Martyn Brown, about
the case? After the briefing, Coleman and Brown decided to fire Dave Basi,
the ministerial assistant whose legislature office was searched by police.
Coleman even signed the pink slip! Was Basi sacked based on information
about the police investigation not available to the general public? Don't
forget the other ministerial assistant whose office was searched was only
suspended with pay.

It looks fishy.

Meanwhile, Coleman has made way too many partisan comments about the case.
He said this week he has "no concerns" about the integrity of the B.C. Rail
deal, for example.

Is that a denial that the raids have something to do with B.C. Rail? Does
he base this comment on his exclusive knowledge of the investigation?

As the top cop, he should zip his lip.