Leo Varadkar story in The Village??? - Mod Notes and banned Users in OP updated 16/05

cameramonkey

This would be a storm in a tea cup if Leo had not said that he only met MOT twice or three times. Now Leo has deliberately miss led the dail about his relationship with MOT. I think there is probably more to come, it will be slow and steady with Leo in the news all the time. Pascal is now drawn into it if it is the Pascal we are all thinking about. At some stage if he keeps pulling people into the vortex with him the knives will come out, maybe Pascal will do the deed.

cameramonkey

intellectual dosser wrote: »

He's not covering what he did, he admitted to providing the document to a third party (friend or otherwise is irrelevant).

He may have tried to justify his actions and thrown MOT under a bus, but being a bad friend isn't something he's going to be ousted for. Focus on the leak, not the friendship.

Focus on misleading the dail over his bad friendship. Oh what a tangled we weave....

McMurphy

seamus wrote: »

Wow, groundbreaking stuff there :rolleyes:

This is an infantile level of journalism tbh. Leo said "two or three times a year". Anyone who read that to literally mean 2 or 3 times, is a moron. It's idiomatic. An expression that you arrange to meet someone on a relatively rare basis, not literally two or three times in a year, and if it's any more than that you're a liar..

Seamus, 2/3 times a year is when I go to the dentist. If I was going to him 10 X times throughout the year I'd not be confused about it.

Leo misled the Dail, and I think their is a strong possibility of more to come.

It's a drip drip drip.

seamus

intellectual dosser wrote: »

I don't understand how his relationship with MOT was ever allowed to become relevant, a leak is a leak, no?

The implication now is that Leo is lying to the Dail about the level of his friendship with MOT.

Apparently a load of uncorroborated WhatsApp messages now make people besties.

Even if all ten of those meetings had taken place, wouldn't change anything.

If they had a regular meet up for pints every Saturday or lunch every Monday or something, you might have a story.

But ten times in a year? A lot of them chance encounters at events? Either people here have very few friends or are desperate for anything resembling evidence.

jammiedodgers

Bubbaclaus wrote: »

Basically Leo gave a finalised GP agreement to a body representing 40% of the countries GPs. People and government opposition are trying to make the next Watergate out of it, and are growing annoyed that there it isn't the number 1 news item on RTE. Some on the interwebs are even exclaiming that he should be raided by the guards.

In reality he will answer a few questions in the Dail next week and that will be that.

jammiedodgers wrote: »

Don't mind me, just quoting this so it will be easier to find in a weeks time.

Bubbaclaus wrote: »

Very good. Will you be back to quote it if my opinion is accurate too, or will only return to try and bait me (or whatever your goal is) if it turns out that my opinion is wrong?

Well I apologise bubbaclaus, it seems the village is now scraping the bottom of the barrell to keep this going and looks fairly certain Leo will survive this now if that's all they have.

FrancieBrady

seamus wrote: »

The implication now is that Leo is lying to the Dail about the level of his friendship with MOT.

Apparently a load of uncorroborated WhatsApp messages now make people besties.

Even if all ten of those meetings had taken place, wouldn't change anything.

If they had a regular meet up for pints every Saturday or lunch every Monday or something, you might have a story.

But ten times in a year? A lot of them chance encounters at events? Either people here have very few friends or are desperate for anything resembling evidence.

LEO threw MoT under the bus to explain his actions.

What he said about him is clearly misleading at best and a lie at worst.

Peter Flynt

seamus wrote: »

The implication now is that Leo is lying to the Dail about the level of his friendship with MOT.

Apparently a load of uncorroborated WhatsApp messages now make people besties.

Even if all ten of those meetings had taken place, wouldn't change anything.

If they had a regular meet up for pints every Saturday or lunch every Monday or something, you might have a story.

But ten times in a year? A lot of them chance encounters at events? Either people here have very few friends or are desperate for anything resembling evidence.

Surely Varadkar knew he had met MOT more than 2 or 3 times in the past year - so why did he not tell Dail Eireann that?

cameramonkey

Is the Pascal meeting with MOT in the leaks Pascal O 'Donoghue?

Fann Linn

How many times did Naughten meet Mr. Broadband Guy and he too was flung under the bus?

intellectual dosser

seamus wrote: »

The implication now is that Leo is lying to the Dail about the level of his friendship with MOT.

Apparently a load of uncorroborated WhatsApp messages now make people besties.

Even if all ten of those meetings had taken place, wouldn't change anything.

If they had a regular meet up for pints every Saturday or lunch every Monday or something, you might have a story.

But ten times in a year? A lot of them chance encounters at events? Either people here have very few friends or are desperate for anything resembling evidence.

I think you and I have exchanged posts on boards before Seamus, are we friends now?

Offhand I'd say once or twice, but if you searched my post history it could be much more than that.

Sorry its not looking great on us squeezing in a Christmas drink this year.

IAMAMORON

At least when you are squeezing an old lemon hold it over the glass.

This is getting sad now.

Laughable even.

McMurphy

cameramonkey wrote: »

Is the Pascal meeting with MOT in the leaks Pascal O 'Donoghue?

Maitiú Ó Tuathail writes in a 30 June, 2019 WhatsApp message, that he’s meeting Leo Varadkar and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe for lunch. He mentions he has an event later that evening with Safetynet, a charity with which he did regular work. Varadkar later went to Brussels – catching the flight would have been tight

Yep, now the Paschal tweet from Bowes makes sense.

Nobotty

That was disappointing
For a start half the supposed meetings mightnt have happened at all
Seamus's point on how literal 2 or 3 times a year meant also is valid
MoT seems to have been bigging up the relationship for Chad

The Dáil cannot be misled and telling an out and out lie is misleading the Dail but describing a friendship as casual without all the details couldn't be that
Otherwise there'd be sanctions in there every other day
2 gay lads mixing in Dublin circle's are going to be bumping into each other often anyway without being besties

Oliver Callan will have right fun with it though, I can't wait until Fridays episode

The central issue now aside from the gossip is the garda investigation and you can bet your bottom dollar the government big wigs wouldn't be defending Vradakar so much if they thought that was going anywhere

This whole episode is a grenade that tactically would have been better thrown in the middle of an election campaign
Its an opportunity wasted
Wake me up if Pearse has something better than this,way better than this tomorrow

zanador

I'm assuming any texts they might have that refer to criminal activity can't be released to the public? They're just showing us the low level stuff maybe?

I think the measure of Leo himself is the fact that everyone I know, no matter who they vote for, think the situation is hilarious (not for the corruption but cos it's Leo) and are delighted he's getting in trouble because he's so smug. And the fact that noone has really been surprised by this news.

Also the slow burner aspect has all the hallmarks of an exciting story, or it will fizzle out. But we should then really start thinking about how cronyism affects us all and maybe make more noise about it. Because at the very very least it's cronyism.

markodaly

So the big scoop turns out to be a damp squib.

The Village Magazine is coming across as petty at this stage, going on and on about chance meetings and even goes to great lengths to say, a meeting could have happened, even though Leo was in an EU meeting that day...
So now Leo has to prove a negative, that he did not meet someone....
Anyone with a rational or journalistic brain will tell you that is not how you investigate a story.

Oh, and now they take the word of Chay Bowes son...
It is all a bit....weird at this stage.

This story now reminds me of the Clinton email 'scandal'

"Lock her up, Lock her up", the baying crowd chant, even though no law was broken.
A mob is a mob and will just want their pound of flesh no matter the truth.

Case in point in this thread.

people hoping for Leo to go on the basis of how many times he met his (former) friend over a year - seriously?

IAMAMORON

What a shambles.

Clutching at straws and an embarrassment.

This non story is over, Leo is going to survive his vote of confidence to tomorrow.

All we are left with now is the wolf cries of Whatshisname, wasting everyones' time.

markodaly

intellectual dosser wrote: »

I think you and I have exchanged posts on boards before Seamus, are we friends now?

Offhand I'd say once or twice, but if you searched my post history it could be much more than that.

Sorry its not looking great on us squeezing in a Christmas drink this year.

LOL, I am friends with lots of people on this thread so too!

MoT bumped into Leo and Simon Harris at a rugby match.... probably a 5-second conversation.

"Hey whats up?"
"Im good you?
"Not too bad!"
"Good, see ya around"
"You too!"

GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY!!!!!!! :mad::mad::mad:



**** sake! This is Ireland, a small country where people will bump into each other especially if they are in the same social circles.

cameramonkey

glasso wrote: »

people hoping for Leo to go on the basis of how many times he met his (former) friend over a year - seriously?

I think people are surprised that Leo lied to the Dail over how many times he met MOT. These little lies all add up and cause damage. Will Pascal and other ministers who met MOT have to explain their meeting I wonder.

FrancieBrady

So the FGers are re-parsing what Leo said in formal answers to the Dáil in order to get it to 'fit' the new information.

smurgen

FrancieBrady wrote: »

So the FGers are re-parsing what Leo said in formal answers to the Dáil in order to get it to 'fit' the new information.

It was always going to be this way hence why they wouldn't say what would be unacceptable to them ahead of new information coming online. Very easy to always be right if you're constantly shifting goal posts.

Bannasidhe

Peter Flynt wrote: »

Surely Varadkar knew he had met MOT more than 2 or 3 times in the past year - so why did he not tell Dail Eireann that?

This is the nub of this latest tranche of 'messages'.

LV stood up in the Dáil and characterised his friendship with MOT as “Someone who is known to me, who is a friend but not a close friend, made out to various people that he was closer to me than he was”. And “This is somebody who is not a close friend but is a friend. He is in my wider social circle”.

LV specifically told the Dáil, under questioning, that he met/met MOT “two or three times a year”. IF this latest from the Village is true LV lied to the Dáil.

And tomorrow FF and GP backbench TDs will be expected to vote confidence in LV or lose their respective party whips.

This is not aimed at Varadker - this is aimed at those who are defending him and more especially, those who are being ordered to defend him.

markodaly

FrancieBrady wrote: »

So the FGers are re-parsing what Leo said in formal answers to the Dáil in order to get it to 'fit' the new information.

I am not FG'er.

intellectual dosser

FrancieBrady wrote: »

So the FGers are re-parsing what Leo said in formal answers to the Dáil in order to get it to 'fit' the new information.

You say FGers I would say critical thinkers.

Lets be clear about one or two things. Leo Varadkar acted improperly, he leaked information which was disingenuous at very best and is certainly in resignation territory. He's also put himself in a situation similar to those where he has called on party colleagues to consider their position. I expect Varadkar survives this but it will hang over him for a long time.

If people wanted Varadkar gone that magazine went about it in the worst way. Its not credible journalism. Its somehow less credible and intelligent than joe.ie and that takes some doing.

If they wanted to really hang him they should have printed an impartial article calling subtle attention to the leak, and then developed it from there by allowing other outlets to to do the investigating. Instead they went into blatant attack mode with literary diarrhea and then had the audacity to instruct the dail in how to interrogate Varadkar.

Today they put all attention on the friendship on MOT, distracting from the leak which is the actual offense, and smug Leo will ride off into the sunset of this scandal.

smurgen

markodaly wrote: »

I am not FG'er.

Things a Fine Gaeler would say

markodaly

Bannasidhe wrote: »

LV stood up in the Dáil and characterised his friendship with MOT as “Someone who is known to me, who is a friend but not a close friend, made out to various people that he was closer to me than he was”. And “This is somebody who is not a close friend but is a friend. He is in my wider social circle”.

LV specifically told the Dáil, under questioning, that he met/met MOT “two or three times a year”. IF this latest from the Village is true LV lied to the Dáil.

That is the key point in all this. Leo never denied they knew each other, as he said, they were friends, but not close friends.

There is nothing really new here in the Village article but a lose and amateur attempt at some FoxNews type expose.

This is not aimed at Varadker - this is aimed at those who are defending him and more especially, those who are being ordered to defend him.

Are you saying that there are posters here 'ordered' to defend Leo?

James Brown

markodaly wrote: »

So the big scoop turns out to be a damp squib.

The Village Magazine is coming across as petty at this stage, going on and on about chance meetings and even goes to great lengths to say, a meeting could have happened, even though Leo was in an EU meeting that day...
So now Leo has to prove a negative, that he did not meet someone....
Anyone with a rational or journalistic brain will tell you that is not how you investigate a story.

Oh, and now they take the word of Chay Bowes son...
It is all a bit....weird at this stage.

This story now reminds me of the Clinton email 'scandal'

"Lock her up, Lock her up", the baying crowd chant, even though no law was broken.
A mob is a mob and will just want their pound of flesh no matter the truth.

Case in point in this thread.

The 'big scoop' is Varadkar leaking confidential information to a pal.
All the rest is just making a fool out of the people dismissed it and made excuses for it.
It's a big issue despite how much the FG brethren tell us it isn't.

markodaly

Bowie wrote: »

The 'big scoop' is Varadkar leaking confidential information to a pal.

Eh, that was 10 days ago.... and there is nothing new here, just a poor attempt to keep the story going.

Cute Hoor

This certainly doesn't look like a smoking gun to me, Varadkar will survive, he is seriously soiled goods at this stage obviously, but he will survive imo, tomorrow should be entertaining though watching FF having to support and prop him up.

Bishop of hope

Bowie wrote: »

The 'big scoop' is Varadkar leaking confidential information to a pal.
All the rest is just making a fool out of the people dismissed it and made excuses for it.
It's a big issue despite how much the FG brethren tell us it isn't.

It's over and done with imo.
A few bowels will gutter out their faux outrage upwards tomoro in the Dail, Leo was wrong, admitted it, nothing to make him change his story here today.
No proof he broke the law at all on the information provided.