LISTEN: Toronto councillor Doug Ford joined The Oakley Show on AM640 this morning to address Chief Bill Blair’s press conference and the allegations made against the mayor.
TORONTO – Councillor Doug Ford is defending his brother Rob a day after police confirmed they have a digital video file of the mayor smoking what appears to be crack cocaine.
“Rob hasn’t been charged with anything. He hasn’t broken a law and he’s being convicted, he’s being convicted by the media. That’s not too hard to see,” Ford said in an interview on AM640’s The John Oakley Show.
READ MORE: Mayor Rob Ford admits to smoking crack cocaine
Ford also lashed out at Toronto police Chief Bill Blair for releasing details of a video containing “images consistent with those that had been previously reported in the press.”
It appears Blair was referring to press reports from three journalists saying they’d seen a video of the Mayor smoking what appears to be crack cocaine.
“He says on one hand he can’t comment on evidence and then on the other hand he wants to comment on it,” said Ford. “So if that’s not a little bit of politicking on the chief’s part, I don’t know what is.”
Read more: Complete coverage of the Rob Ford story
Rob Ford’s lawyer Dennis Morris also appeared on The John Oakley Show on Friday. He called on Chief Blair to release the alleged cracked video and let the public decide for themselves.
“I’m saying when it’s seen publically, there won’t be a case against Mr. Ford,” said Morris. “I challenge anyone to indicate that whatever they see, and he said this from day one, he does not smoke crack cocaine and there’s no video showing him smoking crack cocaine.”
Morris also took offence to the police chief’s comment about being “disappointed” in the mayor.
“Who appointed him judge, jury and executioner? No one. He’s been appointed in 2005 as chief of police, and with respect, he should stick to that position,” Morris said.
Hundreds of pages of documents detailing an investigation focused on the Mayor and his friend Alexander “Sandro” Lisi, were released Thursday after journalists fought to make them public.
Lisi, the mayor’s friend and occasional driver, has since been arrested on an extortion charge.
Court documents show police were actively using surveillance techniques to follow both Lisi and Ford.
“They can surveil him, but he didn’t hide the fact that he was friends with Sandro,” said Ford in the radio interview.
Ford maintains his brother may not be perfect, but insists he has always worked hard for his constituency.
“I think everyone uses bad judgment, Rob does a lot of good, does he help a lot of people? It’s 10,000 more than the other issue,” he said.
Mayor Ford said on Thursday he sees “no reason to resign” and plans to continue his job at city hall.
Comments