Fireworks. Karlheinz Schreiber promised fireworks. And this is what we got?

An admission that he gave money to a leadership candidate for his campaign, entirely legal under the rules of the time, and of no particular interest or significance. And that Brian Mulroney never got money, or even talked about money, while he was in office.

And even more disappointing, that Brian Mulroney had nothing to do with the Airbus controversy:

Karlheinz Schreiber says he never talked to Brian Mulroney about money while the former prime minister was still in office, although the pair agreed to work together on future business, he told a parliamentary committee.

That business included a light armoured vehicle plant for Mr. Schreiber's client, Thyssen AG. Mr. Schreiber said the $300,000 he eventually paid Mr. Mulroney had nothing to do with Air Canada's agreement to purchase $1.8-billion worth of Airbus airplanes.

Mr. Schreiber testified last Thursday that he struck a $500,000 deal with departing Mr. Mulroney in 1993 to promote the so-called Bear Head Industries plant, which never materialized.

Meanwhile, Mr. Schreiber said he gave $30,000 in cash to the brother of Quebec premier Jean Charest when the latter was running for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative party in 1993.

So when Brian Mulroney was accused to being a criminal by the RCMP with regards to the Airbus affair, and when the RCMP determined there was nothing to the allegation, and when Brian Mulroney successfully sued the government and got $2.1 million to pay for his legal and communications bills, it was all on the up and up? The allegations really were libelous and he really did deserve to be compensated?

The Liberals are looking like idiots.

So why is Schreiber letting all the air out of the balloon he created?

Simple. He's in Canada for the foreseeable future:

Meanwhile, the Ontario Court of Appeal has agreed to release Mr. Schreiber on $1.31-million bail. CBC News is reporting that former Liberal cabinet minister Marc Lalonde is among those posting bail, as is Mr. Schreiber and his wife, Barbel.

On Friday, the Ontario Court of Appeal agreed to allow Mr. Schreiber to stay in Canada until after the Supreme Court of Canada decides whether it will hear his appeal of the deportation order, which will likely take several months. He is wanted in Germany on fraud and bribery allegations.

So it sounds like Brian Mulroney is off the hook. There is still the question of the lawsuit Schreiber is pursuing, alleging that Brian Mulroney did not fulfill his obligations with regards to the $300,000, but now it seems that this has once again become a private affair between two businessmen, and of no interest to the government.

So let's get this straight.

• Karlheinz Schreiber was facing imminent extradition to Germany to face serious fraud charges.
• Karlheinz Schreiber spends weeks and months stroking Liberal MP Robert Thibault, suggesting that Brian Mulroney got paid for Airbus work while still in office, in direct contradiction to what Mulroney told the RCMP 15 years ago.
• The Liberals start slinging mud against the current government.
• Karlheinz Schreiber kept up the tease, revealing nothing, but hinting at everything.
• The Liberals put the brakes on Schreiber's extradition, get him transported to Ottawa, and listen as Schreiber tells them...nothing.
• Based on nothing, even more mud is thrown at the Conservatives.
• Schreiber now gets his bail and his reprieve from extradition.
• Having gotten what he wanted, Schreiber gives the Liberals what they wanted...except that he never had anything to start with!

So what happens in a few months, when the plane to Germany is being revved up? Assuming Karlheinz Schreiber doesn't have the last laugh by dying between now and then, I'm sure he's got some other tease ready to go. If he's smart, he'll target yet another Conservative figure. Why?

If he targets a Liberal, the Conservatives will be too smart to fall for his games and kick him out of the country.

On the other hand, if he targets another Conservative with another lame story, you just know the Liberals will be screaming for more inquiries while alleging a massive coverup, the largest ever known in Canadian history!

Of course, if this Schreiber thing really grinds to a ignominious halt, I wonder how long before we hear that Canadians don't really want an election and that Stephane Dion has reconsidered his pledge to force an election in the spring.

And since I brought up the question of Robert Thibault's role in all this, let's remember that there is a lawsuit in the works:

Brian Mulroney is seeking at least $2-million in damages in a defamation lawsuit filed against a Liberal MP who has been an outspoken critic of the former prime minister's alleged links to Karlheinz Schreiber.

The civil action filed in Ontario Superior Court alleges that Robert Thibault made "false" and "malicious" statements in an Oct. 31 interview with Mike Duffy on the CTV News Net cable channel.

The Nova Scotia MP was asked about the issue in the Oct. 31 interview and made a number of comments, including a call for a public inquiry.

"Mr. Thibault intended by these statements to convey to the public that Mr. Schreiber made payments to Mr. Mulroney while Mr. Mulroney was Prime Minister, that Mr. Mulroney falsely denied knowing Mr. Schreiber and falsely denied any business relationship with Mr. Schreiber," says the statement of claim, filed on Nov. 8.

"He intended to injure Mr. Mulroney's reputation. He did so for political gain. He did so maliciously," alleges the statement of claim.

Given that, under oath, Karlheinz Schreiber has essentially validated Brian Mulroney's side of the story, Robert Thibault has a major problem. The suit is for $2 million. The Liberal Party can ill afford $2 million.

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