Duffy has pleaded not guilty to 31 charges, including fraud, bribery and breach of trust.
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Harper has maintained he was not told of Wright’s decision to personally repay Duffy’s expenses, and repeatedly said the two individuals responsible – Duffy and Wright – are being held accountable.
The media, however, and especially Mulcair of the NDP swooped in and attacked Wright who is now being portrayed as a villain, to a greater degree than Duffy. “Senator Duffy didn’t want to repay”. Payne said Duffy wouldn’t follow through with a commitment to repay.
On Friday, Perrin indicated he believed Harper had signed off on the plan.
He said the PMO was interested in protecting Conservative senators from such questions.
The “good to go” remark – and its implication that Harper was conscious of particulars of the deal – has dogged the prime minister because it was first revealed in police paperwork.
It’s the resident part that had become contentious for Duffy, as well as Saskatchewan Sen. Wright claims he did not hear the discussion of his check to Duffy.
It will vouch that the Senate’s inner financial system committee would affirm that Duffy had been withdrawn from an ongoing audit by Deloitte.
Perrin had been tasked by Wright earlier to investigate the qualification issue and he did so by examining the “concept of residency”. In the words of Mr. Bayne, the “iceberg was looming”.
According to Mr. Perrin, he got that impression due to an e-mail from Mr. Harper’s then chief of staff, Mr. Wright, which explicitly stated that they were “good to go” from the PM on the deal.
Novak is a key member of Harper’s re-election campaign, but he has been noticeably absent from the Conservative Leader’s side since his name started coming up in court.
The testimony also contradicts Wright’s claim that Novak only popped in and out during the conference call, and was not one of the staff members in the loop on his payment. He said that at the time, he thought Wright was “explicitly” speaking for the prime minister in his role as chief of staff. “If so, odd his boss keeps him on”, May wrote.
Court: “My view is I was helping out”.
Veteran journalist Dan Léger, who has authored Duffy: Stardom to Senate to Scandal, a book about Duffy’s rise and fall, has been keeping a close eye on the Senate expenses scandal and the senator’s criminal trial.
So, if they have to, they can stand up at podium after podium and say “I was not told about it”.
Perrin said Duffy’s lawyer spoke to Wright that night, but Perrin was “kept in the dark” about their conversation.
“Mr. Wright began the call by introducing himself”. I’m asking you what you understood from that expression.
The trouble is that Harper’s past actions and present situation make the “trust” theme quite risky.
Perrin said Thursday he disagreed with Harper’s assessment. “I would not be able to consider myself a resident of Nunavut, having never visited there, simply by buying $4,000 in real property”, he said, referring to the lightly populated territory in northern Canada. Wright explains that the phrase meant only that Harper approved a plan that would see Duffy admit he made an error and would repay the expenses.
As it is, it has consistently pushed Harper off message, she said.
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He also felt like he was basically acting as a messenger between PMO and Payne – and one with no information to provide.
