In what amounted to one of strangest press conferences seen in quite awhile, Toronto's Mayor admitted he'd smoked crack, but was probably too high to remember if it was the time on the now infamous video that the Toronto police now say they have in their possession.
via CBC
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford admitted today he has smoked crack cocaine probably "in one of my drunken stupors" about a year ago.
Ford made the shocking statement Tuesday at Toronto City Hall in a scrum with reporters.
“Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine,” Ford said.
“But, no — do I? Am I an addict, no? Have I tried it? Um, probably in one of my drunken stupors, probably approximately about a year ago.”
The mayor suggested that he hadn’t been lying when reporters previously asked him about the tape.
“So, I wasn’t lying. You didn’t ask the correct questions,” Ford said.
“No I’m not an addict and no, I do not do drugs. I made mistakes in the past and all I can do is apologize, but it is what it is and I can’t change the past.”
"Yes, I've made mistakes, all I can do now is apologize and move on," the mayor said. "I can apologize to my family, my friends, my colleagues and the people of this great city."
Last week, Toronto's police chief said authorities had recovered a video of the mayor with images that corresponded with media reports about him appearing to smoke crack cocaine.
Ford repeated a call for the tape to be released on Tuesday.
"I don't even recall there being a tape or a video and I know that. So I want to see the state that I was in. I wasn't lying," he told reporters.
Ford's admission comes after months of speculation that began in May of this year when reports surfaced that a video exists that shows the mayor smoking what appears to be crack cocaine.
As Rob Ford ended the press conference one reporter asked if he was high on crack right now. Ford laughed, and sauntered off. Just another day at city hall in Toronto.
UPDATE: In a late afternoon press conference Ford apologized again, tears welling up, before announcing he intended to stay on and even run for re-election next October. So another year of this farce, and maybe more.
