Amid mounting pressure from the media and members of government, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford called a press conference today to issue a carefully worded denial of crack cocaine use. Ford stated, “I do not use crack cocaine nor am I an addict of crack cocaine” — which leaves room for past use — and said he couldn’t comment on any video that “I have never seen or does not exist,” which is hardly categorical either. It’s also interesting to note that Ford’s denial comes the day after Gawker admitted it had lost contact with the purported owners of the Ford crack-smoking video that started this whole mess.
The embattled mayor then refused to take any questions and turned the floor over to his brother Doug before making as hasty of an exit as possible. The press conference comes a day after Ford fired his chief of staff, Mark Towhey, for reportedly taking the bold move of telling the mayor to come clean about his addiction.
