{"podcast":{"title":"The Bureau Podcast","slug":"the-bureau-podcast-6621098","podcast_index_feed_id":6621098,"rss_url":"https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/1444443.rss","website_url":"https://www.thebureau.news/podcast","image_url":"https://substackcdn.com/feed/podcast/1444443/af362ce518384109799fdd03117a63b4.jpg","author":"Sam Cooper","episode_count":93,"summary":"Investigative Journalism. Anti-Corruption. Whistleblowers. Sunlight.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-16T00:18:15.334161+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bureau-podcast-6621098"},"episode":{"title":"Before Michael Ma’s Cross-Examination of a China Expert, The Bureau Warned Ottawa That Foreign Interference Witnesses Could Be Targeted","slug":"before-michael-ma-s-cross-examination-of-a-china-expert-the-bureau-warned-ottawa-that-foreign-interference-witnesses-could-be-targeted","published_at":"2026-04-08T13:00:10+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bureau-podcast-6621098/before-michael-ma-s-cross-examination-of-a-china-expert-the-bureau-warned-ottawa-that-foreign-interference-witnesses-could-be-targeted","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bureau-podcast-6621098","url":"https://www.thebureau.news/p/before-michael-mas-cross-examination","audio_url":"https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/193565588/f89bcd90ab523825611921f72885d51f.mp3","summary":"OTTAWA — In this discussion with Jason James, I break down the stunning rise of Liberal floor-crosser Michael Ma — a story The Bureau has led Canadian media on with at least 10 investigative reports since mid-December 2025, culminating in our coverage of his suspicious cross-examination of expert Margaret McCuaig-Johnston. This is a wide-ranging conversation. I explain the earlier rise of Markham-area Liberal figure Mary Ng, who was selected to run in a by-election after Liberal heavyweight John McCallum left Parliament to become ambassador to China. Ng had quickly risen from an Ontario Liberal government staffer, to a powerful member of Justin Trudeau’s office, to a new member of Parliament in a safe Liberal riding heavily influenced by Chinese diaspora pressure groups, and ultimately to cabinet as trade minister. I tell Jason that Michael Ma’s trajectory — from elected Conservative, to floor-crosser helping give Mark Carney a near-majority, to joining Carney’s inner circle, to appearing to echo Beijing talking points denying Uyghur forced labour — could follow a similarly strategic path that raises questions about possible community pressure group chess moves. None of this has been proven. But I explain why I believe there are mounting signs that deserve serious scrutiny. I also tell Jason that what happened to Margaret McCuaig-Johnston struck me as similar to some of my own experiences in committee hearings. In the interview, I disclose that after a recent request to appear before committee, regarding implementation of the proposed foreign interference registry, I sent a formal letter expressing concern that some questioning directed at witnesses on foreign interference could be inappropriate or reputationally damaging. Because I discuss that letter centrally in the…","meta_description":"OTTAWA — In this discussion with Jason James, I break down the stunning rise of Liberal floor-crosser Michael Ma — a story The Bureau has led Canadian med…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3909,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-bureau-podcast-6621098/episodes/before-michael-ma-s-cross-examination-of-a-china-expert-the-bureau-warned-ottawa-that-foreign-interference-witnesses-could-be-targeted/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bureau-podcast-6621098/before-michael-ma-s-cross-examination-of-a-china-expert-the-bureau-warned-ottawa-that-foreign-interference-witnesses-could-be-targeted.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}