John Key, Parliamentary leader of the New Zealand National Party (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
As the New Zealand John Banks political corruption scandal deepens with revelations in parliament that Banks had been given a discounted rate, via his association with Dotcom at the Hyatt hotel in Hong Kong we thought about looking at this mess from a different perspective. We here at Lauda Finem have been investigating a few of the side-lined issues surrounding Mr Kim Dotcom and his 50k donation to the now MP for Epsom, and 2010 Mayoral candidate for a super-sized Auckland, Mr John Banks electoral fund.
The New Zealand media have so far managed to implicate Banks, Dotcom and Maurice Williamson; but strangely enough no ones taken a close look at Prime Minister John Key and Associate Minister Simon Powers role in what we think may be a much deeper long-drop.
Well informed readers will know that Dotcoms residence, variously described in New Zealand’s media as a “Mansion” and “Compound” (the media’s descriptions all falsely eluding to ownership and criminality) was in fact nothing more than a rental. A property that was wholly owned by a completely un-related party (the family behind the Crisco mail order Christmas hamper empire).
One of the classic ploys used by New Zealand’s pro-National Party media is the dark art of vilification, first perfected by Jenni McManus and Warren Berryman in the late 1980’s and later perpetuated by McManus’s tyro’s; men and women such as Cameron Bates, Fiona Rotherham and Phil Kitchin. It should be remembered that it is only recently that this same mainstrean media has started to put the boot into John Banks, in our opinion only after they have smelt the smoke of Banks funeral pyre.
It was the tone of the earlier reporting that first prompted us to start digging a little deeper and, all importantly, looking at few of the dates involved.
The date on which Dotcom revealed that John Banks had requested a donation and that he had then agreed to fund Banks election campaign to the tune of $50’000.00 was April 15, 2010. He later produced receipts for two cheques for $25,000 he paid in June 2010. As to why Dotcom had been so generous, he put it this way:
“I kind of liked the guy. I said, ‘I’m happy to help.’ I told Wayne (Tempero) to write a cheque for $50,000. “His [Mr Banks’] eyes got a little bit bigger at that moment.”
and
“John said, ‘Wait a minute’, It would be good if you could split it up into two payments of 25 [thousand dollars], then I don’t [have to] declare publicly who made it’.”
When Dotcom first blew the whistle on Banks (Friday April 30, 2012) Banks denied even knowing Dotcom. Later (Tuesday May 1, 2012) a cornered Banks attempted to explain his bullshit denials away as being a result of the “advise recieved from legal counsel”. Did John Banks lawyers really advise this strategy……, or was it more along the lines of “just to make no comment“:
“If I had have quite specifically and quite easily answered all of those questions upfront, contrary to the legal advice, then I wouldn’t find myself in this situation where people think I’m obfuscating,”
Despite Banks attempts to discredit Dotcom, the obvious obfuscation (by admission) and his denials (Saturday Apr 31, 2012) Banks later (Wednesday May 2, 2012) admitted to “briefing” Dotcom on his application to purchase the rented 45 hectare Coatesville property for $45 million, a $5 million neighbouring “cottage” and a $10 million beach house at Doubtless Bay in New Zealand’s Northland district. The application for which Dotcom had also “coincidentally” filed with the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office in the same year, 2010 the year he took on the lease of the Coateville properties with a right to buy clause.
The indictments, importantly unbeknownst to Dotcom, were filed with the United States Supreme Court on or about the January 5, 2012, the “Compound” was then raided by New Zealand Police on the January 20, 2012 and Dotcom and his associates, Finn Batato, Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk were arrested.
Back in September 2011 National Party Minister Maurice Williamson’s decision to grant Dotcom’s application was over ridden by a far more junior Minister, Simon Powers three months after Williamson had approved it. Then Williamson also, without warning, suddenly reversed the decision he’d made some three months earlier in July 2011.
So what had changed between the July and the September of 2011. If we factor in the FBI inspired police raid on Dotcoms home in Coatesville beginning in January 2012 then we are left with a period of just four months.
So just when was it that Prime Minister John Key was advised of the FBI’s interest in Dotcom. After all John Key would have been the first Minister advised. Amongst Mr Keys portfolios is New Zealand’s “Secret Intelligence Service” (SIS). Part of the SIS’s statutory brief is to “Detect and prevent serious overseas-based crime which could affect this [New Zealand] country.”
It is also worth noting that the man who currently heads up the SIS, Warren Tucker, has spent a great deal of time in Washington. From 1984 to 1989, he was the GCSB’s liaison officer to the NSA in Washington and then in 1996 became the intelligence coordinator for the office of New Zealand’s Prime Minister.
So we ask again, just when was it that Mr Key became aware of the FBI‘s interest in Dotcom? Was it Prime Minister John Key who instructed a junior member of Cabinet, Associate Finance Minister Simon Power, to reverse the more senior Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson’s decision. Was that conversation perhaps had in early September 2011, just before they belatedly pulled the plug on Dotcom?
We here at Lauda Finem think it may have been, we also believe that it was the only reason Simon Powers took the extraordinary decision of overriding the Minister who had three months earlier been responsible for signing off on Dotcom’s precious land purchases.
We further believe that knowledge of the FBI’s interest in Dotcom and their intention to attempt the extradition of Dotcom was the sole reason behind Maurice Williamson’s sudden change of mind……where’s the due process in all of this?
With the above in mind is it any wonder that John Banks has repeatedly lied about his involvement with Dotcom, the donations, the phone calls and the attempts to influence Maurice Williamson. It could also explain John Key’s decision to stand behind John Banks.
If he did’nt then perhaps John Banks may be tempted to cut the throats of the Prime Minister John Key and his Ministers Powers and Williamson and if he did that then it would enevitably mean the collapse of the national party led Government.
We’ll ask the question again, who else in Government had greasy palms? Who else had Dotcom sort to “purchase” favour from? Who else may in fact be even more guilty of corruption than John Banks.
Are New Zealand’s National Party Politicians pulling another “Weapons of mass destruction” lie so as to bury Dotcom and his National Party Dealings?
As for Dotcoms comment, “I was really surprised”, don’t be Mr Dotcom, New Zealand and its parliament are fucking bent little shit-holes, its a pacific wannabe full of people that suffer the most debilitating disease its called “Tall Poppy Syndrome” (TPS) and anyone even contemplating investing in New Zealand should think again!
As an ambassador of the united states of america once said: “New Zealand, its a dirty little place to do business, the Dark Isles why on earth would you want to move there”.
As Mr Winston Peters has already said of Prime Minister John Key, “I think he thinks he can tough it out. He would be very unwise to think that.” We here at Lauda Finem agree with Mr Winston Peters, We have agreed with many of Mr Peters past sentiments, especially when it comes to some of New Zealand’s mainstream journalists, men such as the aforementioned Phil Kitchin:
“Phil I told you I’m not talking to a lying Wanker like you”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/556957/Another-NZ-First-donation-questioned
“Phil, I’ve told you I’m not speaking to a lying gripper. Do you know what that is, it is a lying wanker who won’t let go”
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/peters-makes-newspaper-ownership-political-132916
Update: Police gave FBI list of Dotcom’s jewellery and cars
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More Viewing:
Kim Dotcom and John Banks debated in Parliament … – NZ Herald
References:
Banks confirms HK hotel discount
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1204/S00342/director-of-security-reappointed.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Tucker
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Security_Intelligence_Service
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Dotcom#cite_note-60
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10750824
Related articles
- Hidden camera snaps Dotcom giving Banks $50K (laudafinem.wordpress.com)
- Kiss and tell: Dotcom to release detail of donations (laudafinem.wordpress.com)
- Protected: Kim Dotcom’s secret donation to John Banks! (laudafinem.wordpress.com)
- Banks: I briefed Dotcom (nzherald.co.nz)
- Minister says John Banks lobbied him over Dotcom (radionz.co.nz)
- Banks’ Dotcom call: ‘I’d do it again’ (nzherald.co.nz)
- Banks regrets not being up-front over donations (radionz.co.nz)
- Banks: I didn’t lie, I simply forgot (nzherald.co.nz)
- Kim Dotcom claims making donation to New Zealand lawmaker (todayonline.com)
- Kim Dotcom in New Zealand political donation row (rawstory.com)
- ACT president ‘mistaken’ over Banks comments (radionz.co.nz)
- ACT president ‘mistaken’ over donation comment (radionz.co.nz)
- Act Party president flip flops on money (nzherald.co.nz)
- Will John Banks tell the truth… (peter-petterson.blogspot.com)
- Kim Dotcom, John Banks, the invisible Ministers and the unraveling of yet another National Party Conspiracy? (laudafinem.wordpress.com)
- John Banks admits receiving $1000 pressie from Kim Dotcom! (laudafinem.wordpress.com)
- No need for inquiry into Dotcom raids – PM (radionz.co.nz)
- Questions over Dotcom raid ‘very technical’ – Key (stuff.co.nz)
- Kim Dotcom donation claims rock New Zealand coalition (guardian.co.uk)
3 Comments
Oooooohhhhh, c’mon bitches, you can do better than that. Inan bad gramer and childis language is not what the nuns would have tught you.
Hey Pete why don’t you give Greg O’Connor a tinkle on the old dog n bone and let him know how you feel, he might care; but we doubt it lol. For those not in the know, Pete is an ex-cop from Gisborne New Zealand who likes to comment on our posts that inculpate his bent mates