Any sins committed happened under Jean Chrétien's administration and cannot be linked to Mr. Martin, said one strategist close to the Prime Minister. "You will not see anybody identified with the Paul Martin team involved in any of the accusations put forward," he said. "Because that's not how the Paul Martin team works."

-- Canadian Press, April 1

A staff member in the office of Prime Minister Paul Martin told the Gomery inquiry yesterday that his salary as a Liberal Party worker was paid by Jacques Corriveau, a confidant of Jean Chrétien. Gaetano Manganiello testified that he was one of at least three party workers in the Quebec wing's Montreal offices in the late 1990s who were paid by Mr. Corriveau even though they did not work for his firm. Mr. Corriveau, a close friend of Mr. Chrétien and a key broker in the sponsorship affair, earned $8-million in sponsorship subcontracts, according to evidence presented at the inquiry. Mr. Manganiello is on a paid leave from his job as a press office manager in the PMO. He is the first person working directly for Mr. Martin to admit to any direct role in the sponsorship affair... In a written statement yesterday, the PMO stood by Mr. Manganiello and praised him for his testimony. "We're proud of the honesty and directness Mr. Manganiello showed... Hopefully, Canadians will see his appearance as evidence that this Prime Minister and this PMO are wholly committed to seeing the commission's work discharged successfully."

-- Globe and Mail, May 26 Hopefully, they will not also have seen this story. IN FAIRNESS: "Under cross-examination from Liberal lawyer Doug Mitchell, Manganiello said he agreed to testify after receiving a call from a top official in Martin's office. Manganiello said he provided information on the alleged payments to Scott Reid, Martin's director of communications, who then forwarded the information to a Justice Department official." -- CP