AFP close case on Rudd video

Back in February, a video was leaked of an outtake from what is thought to have been one of his video statements. In it, he used somewhat colourful language to express his frustration with the difficulties involved. (Warning: frequent swear words)
 

Now the Federal Police have dropped their investigation of the leak: 

FEDERAL police have closed the case of the mystery surrounding the leaking of Kevin Rudd's expletive-laden video during the leadership showdown. 

The potty mouthed video was recorded in the prime ministers office when he was Labor leader and then leaked at the height of leadership speculation this year. 

But the Daily Telegraph has confirmed that the Australian Federal Police has declared “case closed’’ on the matter after an eight month investigation and they have not found the culprit.

In a statement today the AFP said it had now concluded the investigation that was launched in March. 

"The AFP did not identify sufficient material or evidence to substantiate charging of any person for theft or unauthorised disclosure," a spokesman said. …

It’s not difficult to guess where this came from or in whose interests it was done at the time.  After a period of speculation that Labor was having some buyers remorse about Gillard with a Rudd return touted, the leadership decided to bring matters to a head.

As Rudd boarded a plane to the US for talks, the video somehow mysteriously appeared on YouTube, leaving Kev in the position of having to defend himself from the other side of the world.  Immediately this happened, most of the Ministry went on the attack, forcing him to resign as Foreign Minister.  This led in turn to a leadership challenge, which he lost.

 The material that the video was taken from was most likely stored in the archives of the Prime Minister’s office.  The abandonment of the investigation in no way clears the Labor ministry of blame; it just indicates that these people have covered their tracks pretty well.

It is difficult to understand the degree of sanctimoniousness expressed by the government and elements of the media over this.  We all get frustrated at times and most of us swear about it.  It is not as if he delivered this language in a speech.