Secret Trial

In his bestselling "Presumed Guilty" Kaplan chronicled the corruption charges surrounding the 1988 USD1.8 billion purchase by Air Canada of passenger airplanes from European giant Airbus Industries, concluding that Mulroney had been the victim of a campaign of unfounded allegation and reckless inuendo. In "A Secret Trial" Kaplan reveals how he was misled and deceived by both Mulroney and Cameron. Mulroney was paid USD300,000 in cash not long after leaving office in circumstances he believed were best kept quiet, subsequently misled Canadians when he testified under oath about his relationship with German middle man Karlheinz Schrieber and then tried to suppress the story in the media. Cameron so wanted to destroy the former PM that she broke one of journalism's most sacred commandments and in 1995 became a confidential informant for the RCMP. Kaplan finally sets the record straight about the Airbus affair and reveals the culture of court secrecy that Mulroney and Cameron manipulated for their own use. Kaplan's thrilling page-turner is bookended by incisive commentaries by Jack Granatstein and Norman Spector. They delve into the major themes of "A Secret Trial" - a cautionary tale starring two of Canada's most prominent public figures - and offer tantalizing perspectives on one the most controversial events in recent Canadian history.