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Sen. Mike Duffy’s trial will start next April and stretch over 41 days into mid-June – timing that may hurt the federal Conservatives as the dates fall a scant few months before the next scheduled federal election.
Duffy’s criminal trial on charges of fraud, breach of trust and bribery will take place in two phases: April 7 to May 12, and June 1 to June 19. A verdict would be rendered some time after that.
The dates, set Tuesday morning, mean that Duffy’s trial over his questionable expenses as a senator, including an alleged scheme inside the Prime Minister’s Office to cover the repayment of some of them, will begin as the Conservatives are trying to focus the public not on the woes of the red chamber, but on a consumer-friendly budget that is to be a foundational element of their re-election campaign.
The dates also coincide with preliminary hearings for suspended Sen. Patrick Brazeau on charges of fraud and breach of trust, making 17 days in June when the court will hear about the expense claims of former Conservative senators appointed by Harper. Both cases are politically fraught for the Conservatives.
Duffy will plead not guilty to the 31 charges he faces.
“We’ve got a trial date fixed,” Duffy’s lawyer, Donald Bayne, told reporters outside the Ottawa courthouse. “As we’ve said from the start, we trust that the evidence will show Sen. Duffy is innocent of these criminal charges.”
“That’s really at this point all we’ve got to say.”
Duffy was not in court Tuesday.
The Conservatives have faced considerable heat since it became public in May 2013 that Harper’s chief of staff, Nigel Wright, had covered the $90,000 cost of repaying Duffy’s Senate expenses. That act has prompted a bribery charge against Duffy (Wright faces no charges). The RCMP investigation into Duffy looked not only at the $90,000 worth of Duffy’s living expenses for a house in Ottawa where he has lived for years, but expanded to look at whether he charged the Senate for travel related to personal or partisan activity. It also looked at whether he billed the Senate for consulting work but used the money for expenses the Senate wouldn’t have authorized.
The case could mean high-ranking members of the Conservative party, the Senate and the Prime Minister’s Office will be called to testify, giving Canadians a view of the back rooms of federal politics and secretive world of the PMO.
Duffy’s legal team could even try to call Harper as a witness, though RCMP court documents have said Harper wasn’t directly involved. Parliament will be sitting during the trial, giving Harper and top senators the chance to invoke parliamentary privilege and avoid taking the stand.
Retired Liberal senator Mac Harb faces another court date in October, but has yet to be given a preliminary hearing or trial date.
Suspended Sen. Pamela Wallin remains under RCMP investigation. She has not been charged with any crime, nor have any allegations made in court documents been tested in court.
jpress@ottawacitizen.com
Twitter.com/jpress
A SENATE STATUS REPORT
Mike Duffy: Criminal trial starts April 7, 2015.
Patrick Brazeau: The court set aside 12 days for a preliminary hearing to start June 1, 2015.
Mac Harb: Next hearing date Oct. 21, 2014.
Pamela Wallin: Under RCMP investigation. She is currently suspended from the Senate without pay.
The auditor general’s report: Michael Ferguson’s findings will be made public in early 2015. The Senate: Senators are now back at work after the summer break.
查看原文...
Duffy’s criminal trial on charges of fraud, breach of trust and bribery will take place in two phases: April 7 to May 12, and June 1 to June 19. A verdict would be rendered some time after that.
The dates, set Tuesday morning, mean that Duffy’s trial over his questionable expenses as a senator, including an alleged scheme inside the Prime Minister’s Office to cover the repayment of some of them, will begin as the Conservatives are trying to focus the public not on the woes of the red chamber, but on a consumer-friendly budget that is to be a foundational element of their re-election campaign.
The dates also coincide with preliminary hearings for suspended Sen. Patrick Brazeau on charges of fraud and breach of trust, making 17 days in June when the court will hear about the expense claims of former Conservative senators appointed by Harper. Both cases are politically fraught for the Conservatives.
Duffy will plead not guilty to the 31 charges he faces.
“We’ve got a trial date fixed,” Duffy’s lawyer, Donald Bayne, told reporters outside the Ottawa courthouse. “As we’ve said from the start, we trust that the evidence will show Sen. Duffy is innocent of these criminal charges.”
“That’s really at this point all we’ve got to say.”
Duffy was not in court Tuesday.
The Conservatives have faced considerable heat since it became public in May 2013 that Harper’s chief of staff, Nigel Wright, had covered the $90,000 cost of repaying Duffy’s Senate expenses. That act has prompted a bribery charge against Duffy (Wright faces no charges). The RCMP investigation into Duffy looked not only at the $90,000 worth of Duffy’s living expenses for a house in Ottawa where he has lived for years, but expanded to look at whether he charged the Senate for travel related to personal or partisan activity. It also looked at whether he billed the Senate for consulting work but used the money for expenses the Senate wouldn’t have authorized.
The case could mean high-ranking members of the Conservative party, the Senate and the Prime Minister’s Office will be called to testify, giving Canadians a view of the back rooms of federal politics and secretive world of the PMO.
Duffy’s legal team could even try to call Harper as a witness, though RCMP court documents have said Harper wasn’t directly involved. Parliament will be sitting during the trial, giving Harper and top senators the chance to invoke parliamentary privilege and avoid taking the stand.
Retired Liberal senator Mac Harb faces another court date in October, but has yet to be given a preliminary hearing or trial date.
Suspended Sen. Pamela Wallin remains under RCMP investigation. She has not been charged with any crime, nor have any allegations made in court documents been tested in court.
jpress@ottawacitizen.com
Twitter.com/jpress
A SENATE STATUS REPORT
Mike Duffy: Criminal trial starts April 7, 2015.
Patrick Brazeau: The court set aside 12 days for a preliminary hearing to start June 1, 2015.
Mac Harb: Next hearing date Oct. 21, 2014.
Pamela Wallin: Under RCMP investigation. She is currently suspended from the Senate without pay.
The auditor general’s report: Michael Ferguson’s findings will be made public in early 2015. The Senate: Senators are now back at work after the summer break.
查看原文...
