In another fascinating twist to the seemingly doomed David Norris presidential campaign, a 22 year-old Irish Zionist blogger has revealed himself as the man who leaked the letters showing Norris begging for clemency for his convicted sex offender ex-lover, on Senate letterpaper, to the media.
John Connolly (22), a self-described Zionist and longtime supporter of Israel now living in London, used his Wordpress blog and a little ingenuity to find the incriminating letters before sharing them with the media -- to devastating effect.
Although the witch-hunt for the leaker has already pointed the 'blame' on everyone from the Labour Party, an anonymous trade unionist, to the Israeli Embassy in Dublin, it now seems as if all it took to fall a presidential campaign was an internet connection, a free blogging platform, and a little detective work.
Connolly, originally from Dublin, is a recently qualified law graduate, and clarified in an updated blog post today that he got wind of the letters via trawling through a number of Israeli websites and -- after enlisting the help of a number of Israeli friends for help with the translation -- was able to single-handedly hammer a sizable nail in the rapidly sealing coffin of Norris' bid for presidency.
Connolly's identification as the man behind what some had suspected to be an insider or opponent-led hatchet-job comes as yet another revelation hits the Norris campaign trail: this time that he continued his relationship with his sex offender / ex-lover Nawi for a full five years after his successful conviction -- it now turns out that the two didn't part ways until as late as 2001.
As impressive as the 22 year old's snooping skills are, the case also demonstrates the near impossibility of trying to hide skeletons in your closest in the internet age -- particularly when you've made claims about a country that are patently untrue (Norris claimed in the letter addressed to the Israeli judges that he was a 'strong supporter of Israel' when in fact he is one of its most outspoken detractors in Ireland).
It was only a matter of time before another blogger with similar ideological leanings to Connolly stepped in to dish the dirt.
As the extent of Nawi's convictions continue to became apparent (thanks TheMurphia), and Norris' cover-game continues to run into choppy waters, what aides are left on the Norris trail have good reason to believe that this will may not be the final blow dealt to what's left of the campaign.
Perhaps, as Connolly hinted on hia blog, further allegations are to follow, but if not, given the damage Norris has sustained in the first round of the onslaught, a knock-out may not even prove necessary.