OTTAWA – Nigel Wright is expected to testify at the Mike Duffy trial when it resumes the second week in August, Global News has learned.
A source close to the case says Wright, who now lives in London, is expected to be called as the first new witness in August and could be on the stand for up to a week.
The trial, which breaks on Friday, is scheduled to return from August 11 to 28.
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Wright, the former chief of staff to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, is expected to face a grilling from Duffy’s lawyer Donald Bayne about what – if anything – Harper knew about Wright’s decision to personally repay Duffy’s $90,000 in expenses.
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Wright may also be asked to explain his now-infamous email in which he said Harper was “good to go” on repayment. The prime minister has repeatedly denied knowing it was Wright who personally footed the bill.
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Duffy faces three charges, including a one-way bribery charge, in relation to accepting money from Wright.
He has pleaded not guilty to 31 other fraud and breach of trust charges.
Bayne has already read in court from a police interview with Wright in which he claims Duffy may have had a legal and technical argument to claim the expenses. But he said the prime minister ordered repayment anyway.
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In previously released documents, the RCMP said Wright believed Duffy should morally not have been claiming living expenses for an Ottawa-area home he’d owned for years before becoming a senator.
Wright’s testimony is expected to be the most high-profile at the trial and potentially the most politically-damaging for Harper as Canadians head to the polls in October.
Duffy’s trial, which was supposed to wrap up on June 19, may extend into November and December as well.
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