Nigel Wright, former chief of staff to Stephen Harper, testified Wednesday as the star
witness in the trial of Senator Mike Duffy. Mr. Wright quit the Prime Minister’s Office in May, 2013, after
it was revealed he wrote a cheque to Mr. Duffy for $90,172.24 to reimburse taxpayers for questionable
expense claims. The e-mails, tabled as evidence in the trial, offer a rare peek into the inner workings of
the government nerve centre in the midst of a crisis
The scandal breaks
On Feb. 6, 2013, Nigel Wright was a man with a problem. Mike Duffy, a former journalist who was appointed as a Conservative senator from Prince Edward Island by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, was under fire in the media for claiming that the Ottawa home he had lived in for many years was a secondary residence, and being reimbursed for living expenses. Mr. Duffy had composed a statement saying he had provided proof of his PEI residency to the Senate’s internal economy committee. Mr. Wright fired off an e-mail to some of Mr. Harper’s close advisers.
At first, it seemed as if Mr. Duffy was perplexed by his predicament but willing to repay any money that had been inappropriately obtained. On Feb. 7, in an e-mail to Senator David Tkachuk, chair of the internal committee, he said:
Mr. Wright was also convinced that Mr. Duffy was prepared to make a repayment. On Feb. 11, he wrote to four senior members of the PMO staff:
Negotiations with Duffy
But other Conservatives kept making life difficult for Mr. Wright. On Feb. 11, Marjory LeBreton, the leader of the government in the Senate, wrote a letter to Mr. Tkachuk saying any senator who could not prove the legitimacy of their claims for expenses from a secondary residence with proper documentation, including income-tax filings, should be required to repay those expenses. Mr. Duffy fired off an e-mail to Mr. Wright.
At one point, the exchange between Mr. Duffy and Mr. Wright turned quite testy.
Then, Janice Payne, Mr. Duffy’s lawyer, sent a letter to the PMO saying her client had a long list of demands that would have to be met before he would agree to any of their plans for explaining the situation to the public and a repayment strategy.
Ballooning cost of expenses
But the amount that Mr. Duffy owed just seemed to grow and grow.
The audit and cheque
The Prime Minister’s Office hoped that Mr. Duffy could be dropped from an audit under way into Senate expenses, now that he had agreed to pay the money back. No such luck.
A reporter wants to know if and how the Conservative Party would cover a senator’s expenses. In advising an aide in how to respond, Mr. Wright reveals he has decided to pay Mr. Duffy’s expenses himself.
Mike Duffy’s lawyer wants to know why her client hasn’t been dropped from the audit. She is clearly losing patience.
As the transaction to pay Mr. Duffy’s expenses nears completion, Mr. Wright scrambles to make sure the cheque doesn’t bounce.
Mr. Duffy wants a guarantee that he won’t be expelled from the Senate. Mr. Wright refuses to oblige.
Mr. Duffy wants a guarantee that the government won’t refer the matter of his expense claims to the RCMP. Mr. Wright refuses to oblige.
Mr. Duffy tells a reporter he hasn’t paid the money he owes back, when in fact he has, thanks to Mr. Wright’s generosity. An aide tells Mr. Wright that the senator might be hoping to get some of the money back. Mr. Wright is not amused.
The PMO has persuaded Conservative senators on a subcommittee examining expenses to go easy on Mr. Duffy. But now some senators are pushing back. Mr. Wright delivers a warning that becomes a prophecy.
