Duffy cleared of all charges as judge excoriates PMO under Harper
Ontario Justice Charles Vaillancourt condemned “the mind-boggling and shocking” conduct of the Prime Minister’s Office under Stephen Harper as he ruled that Senator Mike Duffy was not guilty of all 31 charges of fraud, breach of trust and bribery.
The judge issued a 308-page decision in which he called Mr. Duffy a “credible witness” whose conduct was “reasonable and honest” and dismissed every charge related to the senator’s residency, travel claims, expenses and a $90,172 cheque from Mr. Harper’s former chief of staff, Nigel Wright.
It was the actions of Mr. Wright and other top Harper lieutenants in pushing Mr. Duffy to pretend he had repaid questionable expenses out of his own pocket that drew the judge’s harshest criticism.
“I find based on all of the evidence that Senator Duffy was forced into accepting Nigel Wright’s funds so that the government could rid itself of an embarrassing political fiasco that just was not going away,” Justice Vaillancourt said.
At every step of this political drama, Mr. Duffy had resisted “threats and pressures” from the PMO and the Conservative Senate leadership and was “dragged kicking and screaming” to repay living expenses he believed he was legally entitled to collect.
“The political, covert and relentless, unfolding of events is mind-boggling and shocking,” Justice Vaillancourt told the court as Mr. Duffy and his wife, Heather, sat stone-faced. “The precision and planning of the exercise would make any military commander proud.”
He recounted how Mr. Wright treated the Senate leadership as “mere pawns on a chessboard … meekly acquiescing” to his orders, including an attempt to influence an independent Senate expense audit.
“Could Hollywood match such creativity?” the judge asked. “However, in the context of a democratic society, the plotting revealed in the e-mails can only be described as unacceptable.”
Well, that was a colossal waste of time and money.
