Trudeau Battles Corruption Scandal; Singer R. Kelly Charge
WATT: Radio stations in Canada and New Zealand are dropping Michael Jackson's music in a wake of a new documentary on the late popstar. The HBO film features two men who claimed Jackson sexually abuse them over several years when they were children. Jackson's state is suing HBO, calling the documentary a public lynching. New Zealand's media works, radio stations and rival broadcaster ends at Emmy have pulled Jackson's songs and in Canada the CBC reports three major Montreal base stations have also dropped Jackson from their play list. Activists have long been trying to silence R. Kelly as well, but the Grammy winning singer is now fighting back against allegations that he had sex with underage girls. Chicago police indicted Kelly last month on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving four victims, three of them allegedly under the age of 17, but Kelly now says the claims are not true.</s>R. KELLY, MUSICIAN: Use your common sense. Don't forget the (inaudible), forget how you feel about me. Hate me if you want to, love me if you want. But just use your common sense. How stupid would it be for me -- to -- with my crazy past and what I've been through all, right now, I just think I need to be a monster and hold girls against their will and chain them up in my basement and don't let them eat and don't let them out, unless they need some shoes down the street from the oracle. Drop it. You got to quit plan, quit plan. I didn't do this stuff. This is not me. I'll fight for my [bleep] life.</s>WATT: If convicted, Kelly faces up to seven years in prison for each of those 10 counts. Next, Canada's Prime Minister not only faces a corruption scandal, but now resignations from his inner circle and the opposition calling for him to stand down --</s>AMARA WALKER, CNN NTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: -- before this rally, Treasury Board Minister Jane Philpott became the second member of Trudeau's cabinet to resign over the government's handling of a corruption scandal. At issue, allegations of political influence to prevent a corruption trial of major Canadian construction company SNC-Lavalin which is set to be closely connected to Trudeau's liberal party. The Prime Minister tried to address the resignation at this rally in Toronto this past Monday, but hecklers were not having it.</s>JUSTIN TRUDEAU, PRIME MINISTER, CANADA: Well, I'm disappointed, I understand her decision to step down. And I want to thank her for her service. OK.</s>WALKER: And opposition politicians are pouncing on the issue.</s>ANDREW SCHEER, LEADER, CANADIAN CONSERVATIVE PARTY: Jane Philpott's resignation from cabinet clearly demonstrates a government in total chaos led by a disgraced Prime Minister.</s>WALKER: The crisis of confidence for Trudeau began last month when a top minister Jody Wilson-Raybould resigned alleging that government officials had tried to influence her decision on whether to bring corruption charges against SNC-Lavalin. Wilson-Raybould was Justice Minister at the time of the alleged pressure.</s>JODY WILSON-RAYBOULD, FORMER CANADIAN JUSTICE MINISTER: I experienced a consistent and sustained effort by many people within the government to seek to politically interfere in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in his role as the Attorney General of Canada.</s>WALKER: Wilson-Raybould said, the Prime Minister and others were concerned that charges against SNC-Lavalin would lead to job losses. Prime Minister Trudeau has denied the allegations. His Principal Secretary Gerald Butts also quit over the controversy. All this as a general election is just months away.</s>ROBERT FIFE, OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF, GLOBE AND MAIL: It is already having an impact on the liberals. The polling numbers show that dropped 9 percent. I think there's a possibility of them to survive. We're eight months away from an election campaign. He is still is a formidable campaigner. He is going to run on the environment, on progressive policies, but he is got to figure a way out of this.</s>WALKER: Justin Trudeau may be well aware of the fight ahead and could be preparing for what may be the biggest battle of his career. Amara Walker, CNN.</s>WATT: Let's take a closer look at the scandal with Daniel Beland joining us from Montreal. He is professor of political science at McGill University. Daniel, I just listened to a clip of the opposition leader saying Justin Trudeau simply cannot continue to govern this country now that Canadians know what he has done. Really?</s>DANIEL BELAND, PROFESSOR, POLITICAL SCIENCE AT MCGILL UNIVERSITY: Well, I think that there's a bit of overreach on the part of Andrew Sheer, the leader of the Conservative Party. He was criticized for saying that. But it's still -- I think it is a major story here in Canada and there are a lot of unanswered questions right now, but it is unlikely that our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will resign anytime soon.</s>WATT: I mean, the issue here is -- is I mean, SNC-Lavalin, I mean, it seems to me that Trudeau was trying to preserve Canadian jobs or he is trying to preserve donations to his party? What is happening?</s>BELAND: Well, SNC-Lavalin is a major company based in Montreal. And it has about 9,000 employees in Canada, it's a major international corporation in the field of engineering and construction. And Quebec is absolutely crucial if its -- for the Liberal Party. Justin Trudeau's Party ahead of the federal elections, which are in October. And -- there is a lot of pressure, not just on SNC-Lavalin, but also from politicians in Quebec including the premier of the province for the federal government to reach a different prosecution agreement with the company in order. We are told to save jobs and make sure that the headquarters don't leave Montreal. So there is a practical imperative here. Lobbing on part of SNC- Lavalin, about so electrical calculus in terms of all the Liberal Party could stand in the province of Quebec, come October.</s>WATT: Right. But I mean, nobody is suggesting that Justin Trudeau is taking kickbacks, trying to get anything for himself personally. I mean, he is maybe trying to help his party and trying to save jobs. I mean, it seems like the kind of scandal that in another country, south of the border perhaps would be over in about 12 or 13 hours, but not in Canada.</s>BELAND: Yes. I mean, the main issue here is the independence of the justice system. We have in Canada as opposed to what you see in other countries, that are part of the commonwealth, that are part of the parliamentary tradition like the U.K., New Zealand, Australia, where the Attorney General and the minister of justice are two separate positions, but in Canada these two hats are worn by the same person. And that creates some tensions. So there is an institutional issue here, a legal issue. But it is true that compared to the spectacle that we are seeing everyday south of the border this is kind of more technical issue that we're dealing with, but --, but people take that seriously because it is about the rule of law and the independence of justice in this country.</s>WATT: And is Justin Trudeau going to survive this? Will he still do OK in the elections later this year? Or is this going to finish him?</s>BELAND: Well, no, I think it is too early to tell. The election is about seven months from now. If we follow the electoral calendar, unless we have early elections. But, you know, I think that -- that the conservatives and the liberals both have a shot at forming a government. They're neck and neck in the polls. And I think it is too early to tell will win, but obviously, it is too early to tell whether Justin Trudeau will still be the leader of this party in a year from now. And if he will be able to be Prime Minister again after this -- this election in October. So, lots of unanswered questions regarding this issue and also the polls are so tight right now that it would probably be a closed race. And certainly this story, the SNC-Lavalin story is not helping the liberals. And it is giving a bit more ammunition to the opposition, to the Conservative Party and to the Left-wing MDP Party to really attack liberals, because they hope to make gains before the October election.</s>WATT: Daniel Beland, joining us from Montreal, thank you very much for your time.</s>BELAND: Thank you for your invitation.</s>WATT: And next, a vacation from hell. Some cruise ship passengers left feeling that way after a rocky ride. We'll hear from one of those passengers. That is next. Plus Donald Trump's love affair with the American flag, we will get social media's take on groping old glory.