Crown's case against Tamara Lich rests on 'mean' tweets
Tamara Lich is seeking more freedom to travel for her work as a journalist, while the Crown prosecutor dug up commentary critical of Justice Heather Perkins-McVey in an attempt to block the application to relax bail terms placed on the prominent Freedom Convoy organizer.
Article by Rebel News staff.
Tamara Lich's case was being heard again in an Ottawa courtroom on Wednesday, where she was seeking a variation to her bail conditions. Specifically, Tamara was seeking more freedom to travel across Canada and into the United States to continue her journalism work for Rebel News.
Rebel News boss Ezra Levant filed an affidavit in support of the application and was cross-examined by the Crown prosecutor on the stand as part of the hearing.
What followed, Ezra reported on Wednesday's episode of The Ezra Levant Show, was a hearing that had almost nothing to do with Tamara Lich.
"I would say 90 to 95% of the prosecutor's content today was about me and my views and Rebel News," he said on Wednesday night's episode of The Ezra Levant Show.
The Crown dug up his past social media criticism of the presiding judge — including tweets calling the trial a "circus," describing the judge as "gross," calling it an "inside job," and using the nickname "Karen." The prosecutor also walked through Rebel News's online merchandise store, pointing to a shirt reading "Convicted of Freedom."
"The prosecution thought that was so important and so relevant to whether or not Tamara could travel," he said drily.
Rebel News reporter Alexa Lavoie, who was in the gallery live tweeting the hearing while Ezra was on the stand, said the Crown's approach seemed deliberate.
"It seems like it's working," she said, noting the judge made an audible exasperated sound at one point and overruled an objection by Lich's lawyer Lawrence Greenspon to the admission of the tweets.
Ezra said the Crown's strategy is transparent: get the judge angry enough at him that she takes it out on Lich.
"The prosecution is counting on an emotional reaction," he said. "That the judge is just so mad at me and Rebel News, she somehow takes that out on Tamara Lich."
He acknowledged his tweets were sharp but maintained they are entirely irrelevant to the question before the court, which is whether Lich, who has been 100% compliant with every condition of her sentence according to her parole officer, should be allowed to travel for work.
"It's completely irrelevant," he said, "but that's the prosecution's play."
A second hearing is scheduled for August 14, where both sides will make arguments. The Crown is also separately appealing Lich's sentence, seeking a harsher outcome for her role in the 2022 Freedom Convoy protest.
Rebel News and The Democracy Fund crowdfunded her legal defence throughout the trial, which became the longest mischief trial in Canadian history.
To support Tamara Lich, visit TheTamaraProject.com.
Ezra Levant
Rebel Commander
Ezra Levant is the founder and owner of Rebel News and the host of The Ezra Levant Show. He is the author of multiple best-selling books, including Ethical Oil, The Libranos, China Virus, and most recently, Trudeau's Secret Plan.
