Mike Duffy trial: Documents reveal PMO attempts to contain fallout

Newly released RCMP court documentsreveal more details about the efforts made by the Prime Minister's Office and two key Conservative senators to contain fallout from a growing expense scandal in 2013 and to protect now suspended Senator Mike Duffy.

The affidavits filed in court include an email from Prime Minister Stephen Harper's then chief of staff, Nigel Wright, that outlines movesto prevent Duffy from "going squirrelly" as external auditors were called in to take a closer look at his and other senators' expenses.

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The court documents include interviews betweenRCMP investigators and Senate administratorsJill Anne Joseph, director of internal audit, andGary O'Brien, the now retired clerk of the Senate.

The Senate officials were asked about the PMO's influenceon Senate reports written in May2013 in response to audits of senators Patrick Brazeau, Mac Harb andDuffy done by the firm Deloitte.

Joseph also offered details about her interaction with senatorsCarolyn StewartOlsen and DavidTkachuk and their involvement in altering the report on Duffy. StewartOlsen and Tkachuk were on the steering committee that oversaw the reports.

Duffy has pleaded not guiltyto 31 charges of fraud, breach of trust and bribery related to expenses he claimed as a senator and later repaid with money from Wright, the prime minister's former chief of staff.

Changes to Senate report

Stewart Olsen "wanted more deletions from the report," Joseph told the RCMP, adding the "report, to my mind, was becoming very scant."

Joseph said it was her understanding thatsenators Tkachuk and StewartOlsen "sort of insisted with the Senate clerk" that changes be made.

She alsodescribed how Tkachukcame to her office saying he and StewartOlsen would like two more changes to the report, including deleting the conclusion thatDuffy's continued presence in Ottawa didnot support his declaration of primary and secondary residence.

Joseph also told the RCMP about discussion with Stewart Olsen over a separate, still-unreleased Senate report from February2013 on senators' residency qualifications. Joseph said Stewart Olsen's objective "was not to get to the truthof the matters and deal with them the way I wanted to deal with them."

Duffy's defence lawyer Donald Bayne wants that Senate residency report entered as evidence in Duffy's trial. It was Bayne's motion to include the Senate residency report that prompted the release of the RCMP affidavits.

Residencyis one of thecentral issues in the case against Duffy. He designated his home in P.E.I. as his primary residence, making him eligible to claim meals and living expenses for his time in Ottawa,even thoughhe has lived and workedin Canada's capital since the1970s. The Crown in Duffy's trial disputes that P.E.I. is hisprimary residence.

Plan to prevent Duffy 'from going squirrelly'

During the courseof the interviews, the RCMPalso cited a February2013 email from Wright that said he had been on thephone with Duffy,Tkachuk and Senator Marjory LeBreton, the former government leader in the Senate.

According to Wright's email, the plan was to announce in a statement that the expense cases of Harb, Brazeau and Duffy were being referred to an external auditor but at same time issue a separate release stating external legal advice was being sought on the meaning of primary residency.

"A purpose of this is to put Mike in a differentbucket and to preventhim from going squirrelly in a bunch of weekend panel shows," Wright wrote.

Joseph also told RCMP investigators there had been discussion at one point about going "directly to the police" about the Duffy matter.

She said Liberal Senator George Furey felt "we shouldn't just fool around with this" and that police were best placed to decide the matter.

But, Joseph said, there was also afeeling that "beforewe refer things to police we do an internal investigation into this thing."

In question period today, Opposition NDPLeader Tom Mulcair took aim at the Conservative governmentover the newly released documents.

"This is pure Richard Nixon," Mulcairsaid."The Duffygate coverup was orchestrated right in the Prime Minister's Office, that's what these RCMP court documents prove why won't the prime minister answer?"

Paul Calandra, parliamentary secretary to the prime minister, saidthe governmentwon't comment on a matter before the courts.