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May 12th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda Federal MP Craig Thomson has blamed an elaborate plot by a union rival he says fitted him up by using union credit cards in his name to pay for prostitutes – claims greeted with derision by the opposition.
In interviews on the Nine Network and in Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph, Mr Thomson, the former head of the Health Services Union, gave his first detailed explanation of allegations in a Fair Work Australia report that he misused some $500,000 of union funds on escort services and on personal and election campaign expenses.
Mr Thomson, who has been suspended from the federal Labor caucus, said the HSU was a very dysfunctional union and, among a range of threats, rivals warned they would ruin his political career by “setting me up with hookers”.
Asked how payments for prostitutes were made on credit cards that he controlled, and how his driver’s licence details and signature appeared on receipts, Mr Thomson said the HSU executive had access to his details.
“The whole executive knew what my credit card numbers were,” he said. “My driver’s licence was readily available.”
Mr Thomson admitted only that he should have checked his credit card statements more closely before signing off on them.
He’s promised a more detailed explanation, including naming people he suspects, when he addresses the House of Representatives when parliament resumes on May 21.
Opposition leader Tony Abbott said he didn’t think anyone believed this story.
“Fair Work Australia didn’t believe his story. I don’t think the Australian public will believe his story either,” he told reporters in Sydney.
Mr Abbott said this was all about giving Prime Minister Julia Gillard an alibi so she could cling to his vote in parliament and, if she was fair dinkum, she would disown that vote.
He said Mr Thomson now needed to make a complete and candid explanation to the parliament, people of Australia and those agencies investigating “this whole sordid, squalid mess”.
Liberal Senator Mathias Cormann said Mr Thomson wanted people to believe that some phantom stalker in the union movement went into his home, stole his credit cards, driver’s licence and mobile phone, used them for prostitutes, then returned them all to his home.
“His story was completely unbelievable and bizarre,” he said.
That scepticism extended to the social network Twitter, with many questions on Mr Thomson’s claims, including one as to why, if he was innocent, he had withdrawn a defamation action against Fairfax over the matter.
One wag tweeted: Should nickname Craig Thomson “Blue Poles” – (both “framed”, and cost the government a lot of money … )
Government comment on this latest twist in the long-running case was left to Trade Minister Craig Emerson and Attorney-General Nicola Roxon.
Dr Emerson said Mr Thomson was under investigation but had not been charged with anything.
“Let those investigations take their course and let’s not have politicians appointing themselves as judge and jury,” he told Sky News.
Dr Emerson said parliament should not go down the path where politicians could vote other politicians out of parliament and deny the people of their electorate representation on the basis of unproven allegations.
“That would be terribly destructive for our democracy,” he said.
Ms Roxon said allegations against Mr Thomson would no doubt be tested in court and he was entitled to the presumption of innocence.
But she said that should not be mistaken as suggesting she condoned misuse of union funds.
“Every union member and Labor member across the country would be horrified if these allegations are true, because every hard-earned dollar that is contributed to unions, contributed to the Labor Party, should be used for appropriate purposes,” she told reporters in Melbourne.
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