Toronto city councillor Doug Ford defended his brother, Mayor Rob Ford, over allegations the mayor has been caught on video smoking crack.
Doug then proceeded to list off the accomplishments of the Ford administration and attack the media for hounding the him and his brother.
"I don't speak for my brother," Doug said to a large group of media who had been assembled for a press conference.
“My brother is an honest and hardworking man with integrity. A man who has dedicated his life to serving others.”
"Now the mayor faces yet another accusation, an accusation driven by questionable reporting from a news outlet that has proven they would do anything to stop the mayor’s agenda."
"Rob is telling me these stories are untrue, that these accusations are ridiculous and I believe him. I will always support my brother as the mayor of this city because I believe in his track record," Doug added.
Twitter reaction to Doug Ford's press conference was overwhelmingly negative. Story continues below slideshow:
"Never has a politician or his family been targeted by the media this way. They zealously stalk my mother, my children. The media hides in the bushes at our cottage as they did this weekend."
"They’ve shown that they have no regard, absolutely no regard, for what they are doing to our family," Doug Ford said angrily.
Doug also slammed the U.S. website Gawker, which has already raised more than $100,000 through an online crowdfunding campaign to purchase the video.
“To the folks at Gawker, what you are doing is disgusting and morally wrong," he said. "Giving away prizes to try to raise money for drug dealers and extortionists is disgraceful.”
Doug asked the media to stop staking out his brother's house and "harassing" his family.
“When the mayor faces serious allegations, by no means will we be pressured by the Toronto Star to answer their questions on their time frame,” he said.
“If the mayor stopped and held a press conference every time the media made up a story about him we would never have accomplished what we have.”
Doug Ford took no questions and walked away as reporters shouted questions at him.
It has been almost a week since Gawker and the Toronto Star reported the existence of a video tape allegedly showing Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack, making homophobic and racist remarks. The allegations have cast international attention on Toronto and Rob Ford. Gawker is trying to raise $200,000 to buy the videotape. On Tuesday night, the Daily Show's Jon Stewart and talk show host Jimmy Kimmel both did segments on the Ford crack allegations.
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