So, it's becoming clearer that those emails, which were published by MaltaToday and other media houses, are ever so slightly suspect. That was ironic understatement, for the benefit of the Lil'Elves and Peculiar Pundits.  Oh, and while mentioning these little creatures, please don't bring up Swiss bank accounts, it's a non-story.

Austin Gatt was excellent in his press-conference on Thursday and he was superb in his press-conference on Saturday.  On Thursday he only had suspicions, on Saturday, the suspicions coalesced into something approaching certainty.  

Clearly, someone now has to answer the question about how, when Microsoft only switched to Maltese in 2006, the date came out in Maltese on an email dated 2004. The email was brought to light on Evarist Bartolo's Facebook page.

There's plenty more that raises eyebrows about these emails.

Facebooker Evarist Bartolo, a Labour candidate, defeated in its leadership race, was one of the two stern stalwarts coming over all shock-horror in their own press conference after MaltaToday broke the story.  The other one was Manwel Mallia, who has been ubiquitous on Labour's behalf, generally picking legal nits in hairy political stories that need downplaying in Muscat's interests.

Austin Gatt let it be known, during his Saturday press conference, that Manwel Mallia played a major part in the Farrugia family shenanigans, having been counsel to the ones who were not George of that clan. 

He was part of the team, Gatt told us, that had audited George Farrugia's computer.   Another Labour candidate is embroiled in the Farrugia family's trials and tribulations is David Farrugia Sacco, also a lawyer. 

Now, I'm not saying, and nor did Austin Gatt, that any of these three had a hand in producing the peculiar email.  Heaven forfend that it should be otherwise, just as it would be unthinkable to even speculate that MaltaToday was anything but an unwitting participant in what is starting to look more and more like a scam. 

But someone does have questions to answer, and the direction from which answers should start to come is Muscat's party's, the ones who have been holding their hands up in such horror.  Classically, one asks 'qui bono?' (if you'll forgive the canine Latin) in framing Austin Gatt.

In this case, Muscat's party benefits.  

We've already had the edifying sight of Bartolo and Mallia portentously pontificating about the scandal, trying manfully to pin Austin Gatt in the cross-hairs.  They've milked it for all it's worth, and this worth is becoming more and more debased, threatening to take their own worth down with it.

What a bunch they are: one Deputy Leader stabbed in the back, the other frantically trying to justify his somewhat unexplainable behaviour and now three of their candidates having to explain their involvement in an affair that is starting to smell of dirty tricks galore.