Charest faces grilling at judge-rigging inquiry
Lawyer for ex-minister begins cross-examination of Quebec premier
Last Updated: Friday, September 24, 2010 | 5:18 PM ET
CBC News
Quebec Premier Jean Charest arrives at the Bastarache commission hearing on Friday in Quebec City. (Jacques Boissinot/Canadian Press) Quebec Premier Jean Charest has returned to the Bastarache commission to answer more questions about alleged political interference in the appointment of judges in the province.
His cross-examination began Friday morning with the premier facing questions from the lawyer for his chief accuser Marc Bellemare, his former justice minister.
The lawyer, Jean-François Bertrand, began by giving the premier a copy of the law regarding the selection of judges.
He then began quizzing Charest about how he applied the rules.
In his first day of testimony Thursday, Charest denied Bellemare's sworn testimony that the two had a secret meeting to discuss alleged pressure from party fundraisers to name Liberal-friendly judges.
Bellemare testified it happened when the premier's office was empty, and therefore there were no witnesses.
Charest testified his office is never empty when he's around because his bodyguards and office assistants are always on duty. If the meeting happened, he said, someone would have seen it.
Charest also tactfully took a shot at his former justice minister. He described Bellemare as someone who wasn't comfortable in a political role, and suggested Bellemare was moody and emotionally unpredictable.
The cross-examination is expected to continue for most of the day.
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