On the attack straight away rather than dealing with the subject. Typical far right tactic.
1 Like
Iâd love to respond but I have to go off now and figure out where some place called Coolock is
9 Likes
Iâd say thatâs overthinking it a bit
An aye for an aye by the looks of it
Saturday, 26 October 2024
/
1:38
Who is Brian Stanley, the Sinn FĂ©in TD who has resigned from the party over âkangaroo courtâ
Maqeve Sheehan
TodaĂy at 00:45
Ă
The complaint that led to a preliminary finding of gross misconduct against Brian Stanley by an internal Sinn Fein inquiry stemmed from the TD sharing his hotel room with a woman.
Mr Stanley (66) and the woman, who knew each other, are alleged to have shared his hotel bedroom on October 11 last year, after a meeting over food and wine in Leinster House, according to a draft internal inquiry report.
The circumstances of how the woman came be in Mr Stanleyâs room, and what transpired overnight, were heavily disputed by both sides.
According to facts ânot in disputeâ, outlined in the draft report, the woman requested the meeting with Mr Stanley.
Mr Stanley parked the womanâs car in the Leinster House car park, and they went to the Leinster House canteen, where they had food and one glass of wine.
Afterwards, they went to a pub where they had two more drinks, and both parties retired to the hotel.
There was no allegation of physical engagement, and nothing of a criminal nature occurred.
Mr Stanley has strenuously denied any wrongdoing and insisted he slept on the floor, according to the draft report.
However, the woman alleged that she felt trauma and anger at the situation.
She said she did not know only one hotel room was available and that âher stomach turnedâ on then seeing just one bed.
The woman claimed they shared the bed with a pillow to separate them.
She made a formal complaint about Mr Stanley to Sinn Fein in July this year, 10 months after the incident.
The draft inquiry report, provided to both parties earlier this month, found that Mr Stanleyâs conduct breached the partyâs charter of ethics and constituted âgross misconductâ.
In media statements, Mr Stanley blamed a âseriously flawedâ internal inquiry, describing it as a âkangaroo courtâ.
He said he would continue working as an âindependent republican TDâ.
Reacting to Mr Stanleyâs âkangaroo courtâ comment at the time, Mary Lou McDonald said the internal inquiry was a âfair processâ and that the party stood over the process âabsolutelyâ.
In the inquiry Mr Stanley accused the woman of attempted criminality and extortion, by sending him a text message demanding payment of âŹ60,000 in six envelopes at her home.
The text messages are referred to in the report as providing the âmost tangible evidence in this caseâ.
The woman texted Mr Stanley at 8.33am on Friday, October 13, two days after their meeting.
âI deserve compensation for the emotional trauma you put me through on Wednesday night. I have a picture of the room we were in and of you in your boxers. My phone tracks where I am.
âLeave âŹ60,000 cash in my letter box divided into 6 separate envelopes by Monday at 3pm and I will not pursue things further. [Address redacted] Do not ever contact me again.â
Mr Stanley replied: âGod [name redacted]. You know I would never do anything wrong on you. I never would ever do that. And for me itâs just friendship. That is all we always had a good working relationship. Please accept this as being totally honest.â
On Monday October 16, Mr Stanley sent a text to the woman: âWhat you have attempted to along with the messages that I received have a number of very serious legal and criminal implications, but not for me. I have taken legal advice. If I need to pursue these, I will do that.â
Mr Stanley alleged that the woman had âconspired to make a false accusation at most damaging possible timeâ, as an election convention approached.
The woman told the inquiry team she sent the text from a place of anger and trauma.
Although she had deleted the text message, she disclosed to the inquiry panel that she had texted the TD demanding that he should âpayâ her.
She acknowledged that it was âimpulsiveâ and âwrongâ and a âserious mistakeâ.
She also told the investigation that she never had a picture of Mr Stanley in his boxer shorts. Mr Stanley told the investigation that he had changed into his pyjamas in the bathroom of the hotel room and went on the sleep on the floor.
She reported Mr Stanley to the party because she said she could not âstand by silently and allow Brian Stanley to continue as a TDâ, according to the draft inquiry report.
Sinn Fein appointed a three-person inquiry panel overseen by a barrister to investigate the complaint against Mr Stanley.
Their draft report, with its preliminary finding of gross misconduct against Mr Stanley, was circulated to Mr Stanley and the woman in the first week of October.
They were each given seven days to respond before a final report, including recommendation on possible sanctions, issued to the chairperson of Sinn Fein.
However, Mr Stanley announced his shock resignation from Sinn Fein on Saturday night, October 12, effectively ending the internal disciplinary process.
Three days after Mr Stanleyâs resignation, Ms McDonald described the womanâs complaint against the TD as âvery seriousâ and said that it ârelates to Deputy Stanleyâs personal behaviour, leaving the complainant, in her words, âtraumatised and distressedâ".
She also told the Dail that Mr Stanley had made a âvery seriousâ counter allegation against the woman, which she said he was advised to bring to gardaĂ but âhe chose not toâ.
Sinn FĂ©in referred the complaint and the counter allegation to Kevin Street Garda station in Dublin on Sunday 13 October, the day after Mr Stanley resigned.
Mr Stanleyâs solicitor, Vincent Garty, provided a letter in response to questions from the Sunday Independent.
He repeated Mr Stanleyâs âstrenuous denial of wrong-doingâ. He said he âhas not committed, or been accused of, any criminal actâ.
He pointed out that the âleakedâ inquiry report was a draft, and its provisional findings are âdenied fullyâ by Mr Stanley and are not supported by evidence.
It was a source of âextreme distressâ to Mr Stanley and his family that his life long service to Sinn Fein had been âdemeaned in this way at this stage of his political careerâ.
Mr Garty criticised the âbreach of confidentialityâ. âOur clientâs word is his bond, whereas others involved in this matter have clearly breached the bond of confidence, which our client will not so do.â
[
Says a lot.
1 Like
Neither Stanley or the woman one come out of this well. At best Stanley was extremely naive at worst heâs a sleazeball. Attempted blackmail is not good for the womanâs credibility either.
1 Like
Heâs a fuckin dope.There probably isnât one of these lads that hasnât been honey trapped by these NGOâs or the likes of DOB/Larry Goodman etc.No wonder the countryâs a shambles
A âshamblesâ
Iâd say itâs more like that itâs no wonder we get the calibre of opposition we do when we have so many easily influenced like yourself.
Ff/fg are going to win this election at a canter
A âcunterâ would be a lovely way to describe cunts going at a canter.
3 Likes
Why did SF ring the GardaĂ on this?
I dunno. Itâs not like he shoved a twix up her hole.
2 Likes
Heâd have been as well leave her in the room and get a taxi home to Caroline.
Actually on second thoughts
1 Like
That text message was very specific and delayed for something âimpulsiveâ.
Surely the gardai must be involved now?
Whatever happened, there is surely evidence of premeditated blackmail?
Did SF investigate her too? Or just Stanley?
He got the kangaroos God only knows what visited the other one!
He interview in the Sindo;
I was aware that when I came forward that I would have to be fully honest. But that is my sense of integrity. I would want to be fully honest,â she said.
Even though it was embarrassing, I knew the text was a part of the story. And just because I made that mistake in a state of shock, that didnât mean that what happened with Brian was OK.
The timeline here doesnât make any sense. Her complaint went on the record on August 3rd yet SF say they found out about the text messages on September 11th. MLMD wasnât informed until October 12th, apparently.
Well if you believe the utter drivel about her sending the carefully put together blackmail texts in a âstate of shockâ two days later after a night in a room in which nothing happened, you can put whatever spin you like to suit your bias thereafter, so just construct a narrative for yourself.