General

Tale of the tape: Zytaruk speaks!

… to his employer, Surrey Now. The editing is a little slapdash – understandable, since they obviously wanted to get this up as soon as possible – but it does answer the question of whether it was the original recording that was sent to the forensic experts (no) and whether he stands by his claim that the entire conversation is on that tape (yes).

[…] Media crews descended on the Now office Wednesday morning to get reporter Tom Zytaruk’s reaction to comments made by Conservative MP James Moore that the 2005 taped interview is “incomplete” and contains doctored soundbites. The tape, an interview from 2005 with Stephen Harper about financial considerations offered to then Independent MP Chuck Cadman on the eve of a confidence vote, was part of Zytaruk’s research for his biography Like a Rock: The Chuck Cadman Story, released earlier this year. […]

While Zytaruk said he didn’t know exactly how long the interview lasted, “My total interview is on the tape. The tape has not been edited.

“But for argument’s sake, if there eight minutes of interview, which I know there wasn’t, myself and I’m sure many other Canadians would be eager to know what was supposed to have been said.”

Zytaruk still has the original recording.

“The counsel for the Liberal party, counsel for Stephen Harper and the RCMP all requested wire-to-wire copies, which they have.”

It is unclear who the Tories allege doctored the recording, how it might have been changed or what proof they have of their claims.

“What’s important here is that the media find out if they’re talking about my original tape or something the Liberal Party of Canada put on its website. I don’t know,” said Zytaruk.

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