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The Myth: “The female judge that acquitted Carter Hart said EM was being sexually aggressive. That is a fact”
The Reality: Former defence attorney Justice Carroccia based her conclusion on the limited evidence she had, which was largely comprised of testimony from the accused and their teammates. These same teammates formed a group chat when they first heard of a possible investigation. These are some highlights, followed by my own brief observations:
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Michael McLeod: “We all need to say the same thing if we get interviewed” – If you are telling the truth, this does not need to be said.
Brett Howden: “If anything we should put allegations on her” – Quite frankly disgusting and should be treated as the seed of collusion.
Dillon Dube: “Let’s not make her sound like too crazy” – Building on Howden’s idea; trying to calibrate how far they should go with their new narrative.
McLeod: “What should I say if they ask why I took the videos though?” – Good question. What happened during the night that made McLeod think he needed to get consent videos? And what did he tell EM right before filming the 2nd video where you can hear him start by saying, “Say it”? That is evidence he gave her a script and pressured her to take part in another video.
Carter Hart: “What do I tell (Shawn Bullock, a Hockey Canada exec)” – Why not simply the truth? Why does Hart have to clarify this, unless they are concocting a new “truth” and they need to iron out the details.
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The collusion was not limited to the group chat.
Tyler Steenbergen testified that while the men were in the group chats, he got two brief phone calls, from Dube and then Foote.
In the first call, Dube told Steenbergen not to not mention what he saw Dube do, and that Dube would explain that himself.
The phone call with Foote was “pretty much the same,” Steenbergen said. “Don’t say what he did, that he would go in and explain it himself.”
Steenbergen testified he understood that meant he wasn’t to mention he saw Dube slapping EM or Foote doing the splits.
Howden and Hart also testified to getting similar phone calls from Dube and Foote. These are not the actions of innocent people.
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Carroccia ultimately agreed with the defence’s claim, stating “While the men who participated in the group chat were recounting their observations of what occurred in room 209, there is no basis upon which I can conclude that they did so for the purpose of concocting a false narrative of the events”. That is her opinion. In the legal context, the standard of proof must eliminate any logical or rational explanation of innocence, and the text exchanges simply did not reach that high a bar.
However, the content of the texts paired with the fact the guiltiest parties felt it necessary to call all involved to specifically request they withhold information paints a very different picture. It is important to note that the justice made no mention of the clandestine phone calls in her analysis. A curious omission.
People can draw their own conclusions. The actual truth realistically lies somewhere in the middle. But calling the men’s accusations of EM’s conduct “a fact” based on the opinion of a former defence attorney is simply irresponsible.
It is beyond grotesque to build something so harmful yet so intrinsically worthless when so many people go without. Capitalism is the enemy of life itself