Craig Thomson MP has had two supporters set up a trust fund to pay his legal bills it was announced today. He alludes the supporters did it independently of him which is not believable at all. There is a fair chance that the trust fund announcement is in response to the article I posted a week ago (21/4/13) in relation to the Transport Workers Union setting up a slush fund to pay his legal bills. (Click here to read the post)
Craig Thomson follows the twitter account for this site and has for at least a few weeks if not months, when he started I am not sure. You can check here @Kangaroo_Court click on the followers button on the left and go down about 50 followers as of today. He might have un-followed by the time you check but the screen grab of my Twitter account below which I took today shows it where it says “@DobellThommo FOLLOWS YOU”
The trust account set-up was reported on the SMH website today which said:
“A fund has been established to allow supporters to chip in to help pay Craig Thomson’s mounting legal fees.”
“In a letter headed ‘‘Craig Thomson Legal Defence Fund’’ the embattled former Labor MP has now urged friends to contribute to an account established by two of his supporters.”
And “Mr Thomson said he was aware that “two retired guys” had established the trust fund and he was “very, very grateful”.
‘‘They are two private people they are not trade union officials nor are they Labor Party officials,’’ he said.
“Asked whether they were former ALP branch members, Mr Thomson said he would not comment” (Click here to read more)
The trust account raises more questions than it answers. When I wrote the previous post about the TWU setting up a slush fund to pay his legal bills it left Mr Thomson with a major headache. Other media possibly started asking questions about how he was paying his legal bills and if they hadn’t started asking questions what if they did in the future.
Answer? Set up the trust account were money can be funnelled into by anyone and everyone including unions with no one knowing and if the media ask who is paying his bills the answer is easy. It is being paid by the trust fund Craig Thomson will tell the media to conceal the fact that the Transport Workers Union are paying the bills.
The trust account still leaves many unanswered questions such as: Mr Thomson has already been billed $50,000 by his lawyer but it is unknown if it has been paid and if it has who by?
And Mr Thomson has been aware for a number of months that he was in for a large legal bill. So what was his plan to pay the legal bills before the two white knights came along with the trust account?
And here are some questions raised in the comment section of the previous post by H.W.S that still need to be addressed which was prior to the trust fund announcement:
A wise solicitor would have any guarantee that his or her potential fees would be paid in writing backed up with a lawfully enforceable agreement and with some tangible security backing it up. Promises are fairies breaking wind.
Counsel appearing would normally look to the solicitor for fees, subject to some personal arrangement.
Defalcation after the election may well be suspected/expected if the lawyers’ security is not cast in stone.
When sleeping with dogs, beware of fleas!
If there are such written/oral guarantee/s then the guarantor’s potential liability may (?) be classed as an asset in the hands of the person taking the benefit of the guarantee.
If there are such arrangements known to legal reps, then to suggest to the court otherwise or not fully disclose could be a problem. Matter for the lawyers! (Click here to read the previous post)
Were the lawyers waiting for the trust fund to be set up to be guaranteed payment? I do not think so! So many questions so few answers.
I do not know for a fact that the trust fund is a response to my previous post but it seems likely to me for the reasons above. This site is followed by Labor Party and Liberal Party politicians and also Craig Thomson which the above shows. He had to take some action and soon, before too many people started asking too many questions about who was paying his legal bills. But like I said the trust fund raises more questions than it answers and hopefully others will keep asking the questions about where the money is really coming from to pay his legal bills.
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Categories: Craig Thomson
The trust fund page was set up in March, so it’ not something that’s just happened
If that is true why has he not promoted the trust until now and why was it not mentioned in the affidavit filed in court by his lawyer as discussed in the previous post. Did Mr Thomson want to conceal it from the court? – http://kangaroocourtofaustralia.com/2013/04/21/craig-thomson-mp-whos-paying-his-legal-bills-which-union-is-it/
Also today on the SMH site: “The bank account nominated was established by Mark Worthington and Rodney Allan.”
“Mr Worthington is a Bathurst lawyer who was a former Labor candidate for the federal seat of Calare. The bank account is located in Bathurst.” Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/fund-set-up-to-help-thomson-pay-lawyers-20130430-2ir0x.html#ixzz2RzBHij7G
Who the hell does this goose think he is, “God”.Reckon he got no money, just when on a holiday to Bali.What a goose.
Ordinary people have to face the Courts and pay if they have committed crimes – ?Why has it taken 4 years?why is Craig Thomson sooooo protected
Is it a Trust fund or a Slush Fund – ask Julia!!!
Why can’t he mortgage his house as other mere mortals have to do?If he is so sure of his innocence there should not be a problem.I have been a member of the TWU for decades but I have not been asked if I would like my fees to be used to support these charges.He should put his financial future on the line as I would be expected to do.His parliamentary super fund should be put up as a bond.Privilage has it’s perks.
When is this man going to face these allegations?. If he is innocent as he states he is why has it taken 4 years?.
Because it is up to the courts to exonerate him (or otherwise) not himself. The courts set the times for sittings not the defendent.
Lets help ol’ Craigo out. Get everyone we know to send 1 cent (being the lowest coin in the realm) and clog his system- just like him and his union mates clog ours. The cost of processing each “donation” will be more than the donation is worth.
I would do this, but I think any monetary support wold be aiding and abetting a criminal…
Pretty sure Bob Brown did the same thing as I remember being interested on the tax implications of such income.
The man is evidently what we would classify as a GRUB -There are many in the community who could represent Dobell as good if not better than Thomson –He has shown the type of person he is and whether he has redeemed himself and changed his ways he should like any criminal pay for the mistakes he made .Using the funds that hard working cleaners/ hospital staff have contributed to give yourself special indulgences is not the actions of an honest person .Let him pay the price
Thomson, the ugly face of Labor and the unions. It seems that when you have lied and cheated all your professional life supported by a lying government and unions then you have by now the hide of a rhino. Therefore this move by him is no surprise. What is a surprise is that anyone but anyone would subscribe.
Women’s Weekly has an article about Thomson’s family’s suffering. Too carefully placed for my liking. It seems when you get elected to parliament it’s a Get out of Jail Free prize not to mention flying first class for the rest of your days. VCB
It doesn’t really matter if he gets any donations to cover his court costs, the union will pay one way or another, they like Labor love spending money that does’t belong to them,he will probably get away with it anyway not many polititians ever pay for their criminal actities,just take a look at the Labor Mob,none of them could lie strait in bed,its only ordinary working people that ever get done for their misdemeanour’s. Allan Myalup WA
If I did not know better one would think the major requisition for being a labor politician was that one HAD to be corrupt before being accepted. Is there not one honest person amongst this rabble of politicians?
Where are all the committed Labor lawyers? no pro bono’s on offer. Where is this Hughy McDermott fellow who appears on Van Onsolens Contrarians.
Heath Aston, in The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald—which, one might think, ought to have access to accurate electoral records—, claimed, wrongly, that Mr. Worthington “was a former Labor candidate for the federal seat of Calare”; however, he was an unsuccessful candidate, twice, for the State seat of Bathurst.
(http://allrightallright.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/craig-thomson-is-crook.html)
What a great idea, similar as Julia’s . If any one donates im sure the funds might vanish into thin air and my bet it would be the guy that stole poor old Craigs credit card
So who (apart from union members who have no choice) would be stupid enough to donate money to such a worthy cause?
Exactly, no one is that stupid. All the trust fund is for is to funnel union money through to pay the legal bills.
It is being reported that the site is set up and maintained by Thomson’s taxpayer funded press secretary David Gardiner. If you do a search on the site it shows him as the post author. A screen grab stored away for future reference would be handy I think Shane. It is illegal to use taxpayer funded staff to operate a private business and this fund would have to come under that I’m sure.
Now we hear he is holidaying in Bali yet a week ago he swore he only had $65 in his bank account and a credit card debt in excess of $20000
GRUB <CROOK
I wonder how many gullible fools ill donate?
I can think of numerous ways to spend my money and gain some enjoyment rather than send it to help a pants man with little credibility to escape the costs of his alleged past actions–such an action would not give me one whit of satisfaction,as i don’t beleve his protestations of innocence are worth any more than those of Williamson and Obeid
Today the reports are that Thomson’s father set it up, but one of the signatories to the account says that Thomson himself set up the site and asked him to be a signatory. I think some more charges of fraudulently obtaining benefit by deception may well be coming your way Craigy boy. Also reports from a labor insider today that they have still been paying his legal bills after Gillard sent him to the naughty stool.
Lawyers don’t work for free 99.8% of the time. So someone must be paying for his bill, and it is most likely a Union. Probably not the HSU because they are being investigated, so it will just be another one. Then a few deposits of $10 each or so will come in from some singe digit IQ labor voters. Perhaps the police should just add this to their checklist of investigations.
Craig Thomson gets $200,000 a year, $260 travelling allowance for parliament sitting, then just recently has a Holiday in Bali. The hide of the man to want funds. Shear arrogance.What about the individuals on $35,000 a year with a mortgage, does anyone care about them? No! Wake up to yourself,Thomson! You made your bed, now lie in it fool.
Hey, why are a few carrying on about suspected slush funds, corruption and union scandals when we have singletons and waterhouses in a biff over some joyous creature’s failure, to deal with in the media.
Thank’s for your site Shane. I normally have little time for Richo——but this one he called well, to the presellectors in Mr thomsons seat—–don’t touch him! Too late now but will probably cost Labor bout a million$.