Harper visited Cadman on eve of explosive sponsorship testimony

[CHIMO]

OTTAWA — Stephen Harper visited Chuck Cadman at his home just a day before damaging revelations in the Liberal sponsorship scandal were made public in 2005, says a soon-to-be-released book.

Mr. Cadman's biographer, Tom Zytaruk, says Mr. Harper met with the Independent MP in early April 2005 for one hour, according to a leaked version of the manuscript of Like A Rock: The Chuck Cadman Story.

Mr. Zytaruk doesn't say what was discussed at that meeting.

The book says two local Tories and John Reynolds — then a prominent Conservative from British Columbia and a key Harper adviser — urged Mr. Cadman to rejoin his former party.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080304.wharcad0304/BNStory/National/home

[daleo]

1. Maybe Harper was testing Cadman's potential to be bought

That may explain his later instructions to the party representatives not to "press" things too much.

[CHIMO]

2. If

One were looking for the person that made the offer, one might consider the last sentence carefully.