CP: Judge orders court-supervised analysis of Cadman tape in Harper defamation suit

[tuvor]

OTTAWA — A Superior Court judge has ordered a court-supervised analysis of a controversial audio tape at the centre of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's $3.5-million defamation suit against the Liberal party.

Justice Charles Hackland recently issued the extraordinary order compelling author Tom Zytaruk to surrender the tape of an interview he conducted with Harper about Chuck Cadman, the late independent MP.

Harper's lawyer, Richard Dearden, obtained the court order after filing affidavits from two audio experts who maintained the tape had been doctored and a third who concluded the tape's authenticity couldn't be determined without laboratory analysis.

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http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hfPaNcET09l2IYk6uWHD4d0DOX6Q

[daleo]

1. Interesting development

I suspect a neutral analysis will show a break in the recording, just as Zytaruk claimed. The Conservatives will play this up as an ominous sign, claiming that it somehow changes the meaning of Harper's words. Zytaruk and perhaps other journalists will testify that this is standard practice in the profession. The judge will then throw out the case and Harper will have to pay costs.

It's just a matter of how long all this takes and whether it manages to forestall this as an election issue - e.g. Harper: "I can't comment on that as the matter is before the courts". I think that's all Harper is interested in.