Stephen Pinocchio?

Good Day Readers:

You'll know just how serious the RCMP investigation is when and if it calls in Pinocchio Stephen for a friendly little "fireside chat." Then what about those three PMO staffers who knew and who did, in turn, they tell?

Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk

Affidavit notes staffers knew about 'gift'

Investigators say lawyers for Nigel Wright told three members of the PMO about the payment to Mike Duffy

Steven Chase
Kim Mackrael/Ottawa
Saturday, July 6, 2013

A sworn RCMP affidavit contradicts Prime Minister Stephen Harper's claim that Nigel Wright was the only person who knew about the $90,000 payment to Senator Mike Duffy. (Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)

Stephen Harper's central defence in the Nigel Wright affair - that the aide told no one of his secret $90,000 gift to Senator Mike Duffy - is eroding in the face of RCMP evidence that three others in the Prime Minister's Office knew of the arrangement.

A sworn RCMP affidavit make public this week reveals that the Conservative Party was planning to foot the bill for repaying Mr. Duffy's improperly claimed expenses before it realized how much it would cost. The RCMP filed the documents on June 24 as part of its investigation into whether the Prince Edward Island senator committed fraud and breach of trust.

RCMP investigators say lawyers for Mr. Wright told three members of the PMO about the payment to Mr. Duffy.

"Mr. Wright recalls that he told the following people that he would personally provide funds to repay Duffy's ... expenses," the affidavit says.

These PMO staffers include Chris Woodcock, Director of Issues Management - a job that handles hot political files - as well as legal adviser Benjamin Perrin and David van Hemmen, Mr. Writght's Executive Assistant. These three ultimately owed their jobs to Mr. Wright, who as Chief of Staff would have decided who was hired, promoted or fired in such senior PMO positions.

Senator Irving Gerstein, who controls the Conservative Party's taxpayer-subsidized war chest, also knew of the arrangement, Mr. Wright's lawyer told the RCMP.

This revelation contradicts Mr. Harper's statement in the House of Commons that Mr. Wright was the only person who knew about the $90,000 payment to try to quell a controversy over Mr. Duffy's expense claims. It also fuels questions about how likely it was that the Prime Minister was unaware of such a serious initiative when such knowledge was shared among four of his senior staff.

"It was Mr. Wright who made the decision to take his personal funds and give those to Mr. Duffy," Mr. Harper said in the Commons on June 5. "Those were his decisions. They were not communicated to me or to mambers fo my office." On may 28, he told the Commons the the gift to Mr. Duffy was "a matter he kept to himself until Wednesday, May 15" - the day the PMO finally acknowledged the $90,000 payment publicly.

Asked to address the contradiction between what Mr. Harper said in Question Period and the RCMP evidence in the court filing, PMO Director of Communications Andrew MacDougall said: "I will decline comment on Mr. Wrights's recollections."

Mr. Harper has long contended that he knew nothing of Mr. Wright's gift and that the former Chief of Staff acted alone. The PMO said Firday that it believes the RCMP court filings corroborate Mr. Harper's insistence that he was unaware of the transaction.

Rob Walsh, retired law clerk of the House of Commons, said Mr. Harper is not justified in pleading that he was out of the loop. "In terms of the Prime Minister he owes Canadians a greater duty to keep himself informed about what his office is doing and to accept responsibility for what his office is doing and to not protest he knew nothing when it frankly seems implausible or irresponsible for him to have not known this was going on."

NDP Ethics Critic Charlie Angus said it's diffficult to accept Mr. Harper's insistence he was kept in the dark about the Wright payout.

Mr. Duffy has repeatedly declined to speak with reporters about the RCMP investigation and did not respond to requests for comment from the Globe and Mail on Friday.

The Ontario Court of Justice documents are applications for production orders or search warrants seeking evidence from the Senate about Mr. Duffy's expense claims. The contents were initially sealed, but The Globe and CTV made an application to the court to have them made public in order to report on their contents.