WATCH: Prime Minister Stephen Harper was back in the hot seat in question period Tuesday over his involvement in the Senator Duffy cover-up, with questions centering around the RCMP’s request for Duffy “script” emails from PMO.
OTTAWA —The RCMP are looking to get their hands on emails Senator Mike Duffy has said prove the Prime Minister’s Office orchestrated every step the beleaguered senator took and every word he said as the Senate spending scandal erupted earlier this year.
“The existence of such documentation may potentially be evidence of criminal wrongdoing by others,” Supt. Biage Carrese wrote in a letter dated Nov. 1. “My investigators are interested in gathering all evidence respecting this matter in order to conduct a thorough investigation.”
A copy of the letter distributed to media has the addressee blacked out.
The RCMP letter notes three items of particular interest:
– Emails from the Prime Minister’s Office “specifically relating to a script for Senator Duffy to follow,” which the senator said he was forced to recite when talking about how he repaid his questionable housing allowances.
– An email from Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s former chief of staff Nigel Wright dated December 4, 2012 in which he says the senator’s expenses were in order.
– A two-page document from Senator Marjory LeBreton’s office dated January 6, 2009 that lays out the Senate’s residency policy.
- Roll Up To Win? Tim Hortons says $55K boat win email was ‘human error’
- Bird flu risk to humans an ‘enormous concern,’ WHO says. Here’s what to know
- Halifax homeless encampment hits double capacity, officials mull next step
- Ontario premier calls cost of gas ‘absolutely disgusting,’ raises price-gouging concerns
Duffy tabled the last two items on that list during an appearance in the Senate last week, but only referenced the first, potentially incriminating, email chain in a speech to the Senate.
When questions started swirling around how Duffy had repaid the $90,000 in questionable expenses, he initially said he’d taken a loan from RBC. Last week, however, he told the Senate he was threatened and intimidated into going along with a story concocted by PMO.
The story he was forced to tell, Duffy said, was all part of a scheme some inside the Prime Minister’s Office made up to deceive the Canadian public.
“Senator Duffy made certain statements while addressing the Senate chamber,” Carrese, the RCMP officer in charge of sensitive and international investigations wrote. “During his address, Senator Duffy intimated that he is in possession of emails and documents which may be material to our criminal investigation.”
On Tuesday, Harper’s director of communications, Jason MacDonald, said the letter does not suggest the RCMP are investigating the PMO.
“It appears that this is a request from the RCMP to Mr. Duffy’s lawyer asking for proof of the allegations made by his client on the Senate floor and for copies of emails he claimed to have in his possession,” said MacDonald in a statement to Global News.
“The RCMP has not suggested that they are investigating the PMO or anyone currently in PMO. We have actively assisted the RCMP in accessing whatever information they have required as part of their investigation, and will continue to do so if or as required.”
The letter from the RCMP comes as Duffy stands to lose his job in the Senate, with his colleagues expected to vote whether to suspend him, as well as Senators Pamela Wallin and Patrick Brazeau.
Duffy’s lawyer, Donald Bayne, was not immediately available for comment.
Comments