TORONTO – The media, the police chief and Mayor Rob Ford’s political opponents are all part of a “Stalin-era” conspiracy to oust the mayor, according to his brother councillor Doug Ford.
“You guys were after him from day one,” he told a group of reporters at city hall, accusing them of “Pravda journalism” in an apparent reference to the newspaper affiliated with Russia’s Communist Party.
“In my opinion folks, this is a clear, clear agenda, a very well organized agenda, from some of our competitors. And, in my opinion, they don’t want Rob Ford here.”
He also suggested the staggered release of court documents related to the Sandro Lisi investigation – made public thanks to an ongoing legal tussle between news organizations and the Crown – were themselves part of the attack on the mayor.
Read More: Complete coverage of Mayor Rob Ford
When asked if he thought the judicial system was also part of the conspiracy, he said he supports “the judicial system.”
“Because you know something, the judicial system, they tried to take Rob down three times and they failed and you guys have failed. And now they’re trying to take Rob down a fourth time and they’re going to fail.”
While the mayor has so far not answered questions from the Toronto media pertaining the recent allegations made in the Lisi documents, he called them “outright lies” on a Washington Radio Station Thuesday.
Some of the documents allege the mayor hung out at 15 Windsor Road – a known crackhouse – multiple times with alleged gang members. The documents also allege the mayor offered some of the same people $5,000 and a car for the infamous video showing him smoking what might be crack cocaine.
Read More: A Rob Ford timeline (or, how the mayor allegedly spent 4/20)
None of the statements made in the documents have been proven in court.
“The mayor is not hanging out with gang members, I can assure you of that,” Doug Ford said Friday, also saying the mayor has not hung out with gang member since being elected mayor in 2010.
Instead of answering further questions about his brother, Councillor Ford petitioned reporters to shift their gaze from city hall to Queen’s Park.
“Maybe you guys should spend a little more time with the crooks up at Queen’s Park,” he said. “Go on personal attacks to the premier that is absolutely shafting taxpayers of a billion dollars.”
He made the comments after reporters asked whether the mayor should attend the funeral of Const. John Zivcic, a police officer who died in hospital Monday from injuries sustained during a serious crash over the weekend.
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