The days since the arrest of Gerry Adams for questioning about his alleged role in the abduction, death and disappearance of Jean McConville have been distinguished by some of the laziest and sloppiest journalism I have ever experienced.
Unchecked allegations nestle comfortably beside outright lies as one journalist after another has speculated in particular about the contents of the interviews that were unfortunately and unnecessarily handed over to the DoJ/PSNI by Boston College.
Many journalists have gone to print without even a phone call to myself to check facts or allegations. Nor have they bothered to avail themselves of the mountain of information and original documents stored on the website created and studiously tended by Carrie McIntyre, partner of Anthony McIntyre.
Had they bothered to give the computer keyboard a couple of clicks they would have been able to access the most accurate and complete description of the content of the surrendered interviews available anywhere.
Only one person, other than myself and Anthony McIntyre has read the entire archive and that was the US Federal Court judge, William Young who heard the case seeking the dismissal of the PSNI subpoenas in December 2011.
Judge Young was obliged to read the entire archive after Boston College made the extraordinary claim (initially contained in a sealed affidavit to spare the college embarrassment but revealed inadvertently during proceedings) that it could not help him choose which interviews to hand over since the responsible staff member, college librarian Bob O’Neill, had never read them!
In his final judgement delivered in late January 2012, Young outlined his reasoning for choosing the interviews to be given to the PSNI and in so doing gave us a pretty good idea what was in them. This very important clue was hiding in plain sight on the website.
Since I have now done their work for them, perhaps journalists covering the story can now be a little bit more accurate in the reportage of what is and what is not in the interviews handed over to the PSNI. My apologies if what Judge Young has to say lacks the drama and sensation that reporters clearly yearn for.
Here then is the relevant part of Judge Young’s judgement. I reproduce it without comment. These interviews discussed by Young were sought by the PSNI under a second subpoena served two or more months after the first. The first subpoena dealt with Brendan Hughes’ and Dolours Price’s interviews with Anthony McIntyre. I wish to repeat again for the umpteenth time: in her interview with Anthony McIntyre for the Belfast Project she did not, repeat not, that is NOT, even mention Jean McConville’s name much less describe her death.
Here is Judge Young’s summary of the contents of the subpoenaed interviews:
Hope I'm not going off thread! Where has the video of Storey gone?
ReplyDeleteI had it saved on my laptop and it has 'disappeared'.
I can't find it on the internet either?
Nuala,
ReplyDeleteThey probably pulled the video as bringing out the Provos was another blunder and Story was screaming like a henchman rather than the voice of peace loving SF.
They haven’t gone away ya know. It is still on the Spotlight show or at least a bit of it.
Tain Bo,
ReplyDeleteYou could see the bemused look on Mc Guinness's face.
Adams undermined everything them both at the press conference the next day.
Storey was cringeworthy, totally embarrassing but then Caral Ni chuilian and Jennifer Mc Cann were equally unimpressive in other videos, bleating on about injustice but could not pin point what the injustice was?
huge storm in a T-Cup. But like dead hungers-strikers and funerals in general it's all good for votes.
ReplyDeleteStorey obviously still walks around town thinking he's an IRA man. How 'comical-alley' is that!!?
I agree Fionnuala
ReplyDeleteStorey added to the general absurdity of the whole Sinn Fein reaction to the situation. When Storey spoke McGuinness' face told its own story. Adams came out and made them look even more ridiculous.
Should have said Adams belittled them the next day.
ReplyDeleteThey are as tiresome as they are treacherous.
Larry,
ReplyDelete'Storey obviously still walks around town thinking he's an IRA man. How 'comical-alley' is that!!?'
Bobby Storey: "Me not come to work today to threaten people, me sick."
Martin McGuinness: "When I'm sick I have sex with my wife, try it."
Big Bob calls back: "It worked. Me better. You got nice house!"
bobby storey crikey, yes the whole peace/surrender process has gone even more pear-shaped and pathetic. someone should tell bobby his mate the marxist revolutionary guerrilla keenan gave away the weapons. kim il yung or whatever hes called probably watches a bit of the sky news back home in north korea and wonders how the fuck does that beardy guy do it. hes jealous of the adoration and adulation beardy gets and he only has the one mural and dusnt have his own tv channel. yet. sftv is only a matter of time i fear. altho it cud be funny in a very unfunny way.
ReplyDeleteRobert
ReplyDeleteyou gotta be kidding. Cud be worse cud be Gerry's mrs. Gerry aint no oil painting but by Christ Susan Boyle is the Monalisa copared to his mrs.
Fionnuala
if the penny hasn't dropped for Bobby after that press conference 'I support the RUC the IRA is gone it's not coming back' then ffs get the folk in white coats round his gaff ASAP before he does do Gerry's mrs, anyone that badly fucked up is capable of anything. The man needs help.
So Ivor Bell is charged using Belfast project files...
ReplyDeleteToday a 56yr old man is released with a file sent to the PPS, using the same evidence to charge Ivor Bell...
And Gerry Adams with the same files looks like to be getting away scot free...
Frankie
ReplyDeleteit's the sky news effect. I saw in Korea teaching English a big business was Christian churches. Many had their own tv stations/god squad good living for a living broadcasts from within their own churches/buildings.
They seem to think it a worthy endeavour. Probably a licencing issue, but...might be worth a deco in the future too. of course SF never require that, they have SKY TV and BBC Panarama.
Regardless, I recn after Storey, deep down they know the Storey, who they send out next? Or will they kill another RC to keep the defended community in line?
“the court determines that the two specific.......but the full series of these two interviewees need not be produced.”
ReplyDeleteEd,
Does this mean that the PSNI only received the part of the interviews relating to these two interviewees that refers to Jean McConville and that the rest of the interviews of these two interviewees not referring to Jean McConville was withheld? Also, the judge does seem to imply that overall the quality of the information provided on Jean McConville is not that valuable and is mostly hearsay!!!
If that is the case then how can the PSNI arrest and charge one person with this evidence and arrest and then review whether or not to charge another person with the same evidence, even though both are mentioned on the recordings?
So in fact, if it is true that is all the PSNI have then what they actually have is a recording of someone audibly repeating their own intelligence file information which they already have!!!!!!!
Also, I understand from a journalist point of view your concerns of how Boston College surrendered the recordings but from a Republican point of view there really isn’t that much to worry about what HET have got their hands on. The only concern is that they could continue to keep coming back at the College until they have it all.