Harper stuck with his position that he was holding former chief of staff Nigel Wright and Mike Duffy responsible.
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“This”, Duffy thundered, “is a case for the history books”.
The saga began in 2012, when the auditor general issued a report that recommended taking steps to ensure members of the upper chamber were submitting enough proof their expense claims were for legitimate parliamentary business.
The largest chunk of charges dealt with Duffy’s travel and expense claims, including $65,000 in Senate money that was funnelled through companies run by Duffy’s friend Gerald Donohue for expenses like make-up costs, photos, paying a volunteer and hiring his personal trainer as a consultant.
Of course, Harper lost the election.
Duffy, a former television journalist, had been a popular fund-raiser for the Conservative Party before the scandal broke.
Duffy quickly resigned from the Conservative Senate caucus, and Wright stepped down as well. Clearly, Stephen Harper did not want this matter in court. Pamela Wallin walked out of a meeting of independent senators – seven of which were recently appointed by the now-governing Liberals.
Vaillancourt said he found Duffy a credible witness and that he was subject to intense pressure from the PMO and its staff, who only had one goal: make the political storm created by Duffy’s expense issues go away.
The trial started amid enormous media coverage last August, shortly after Harper, who took power in 2006, had launched an election campaign.
“Canadians have been able to see since the beginning of the Duffy affair that everything to do with the Senate – from the appointment process through their administration – that they are unaccountable, and it is a grossly undemocratic institution”. The rules say if he’s acquitted, he can take up his seat in the Senate at the very next sitting.
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Meanwhile, following his acquittal, Senate officials have announced that Duffy is now back in the senate and once again has access to his office and all the resources of the upper chamber. In the end, Justice Vaillancourt concluded that there was nothing to any of the charges.
