Former prime minister Jean Chretien waited a mere few hours before rejecting the findings of the Gomery report as biased and announced he will challenge its findings in Federal Court.
"I'm not to take the blame for something that's not true," he said. Chretien was unrepentant and pugnacious in an hour-long news conference that featured almost as many salvos aimed at his successor, Paul Martin, as his tormentor, Justice John Gomery.
Gomery said Chretien bore no responsibility for the malfeasance of corrupt Liberals in Quebec, but he did blame the former prime minister for creating the atmosphere that allowed the sponsorship program to flourish.
Chretien accused Gomery of limiting his witness list to only those who would provide damaging testimony.
"It's a bit surprising that all the witnesses that could have said a nice thing about my administration, they weren't invited (to testify)," Chretien told reporters.
