The leaders of the parties trying to overthrow Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government must be jumping for joy.
Mike Duffy, who was appointed to the Senate by Mr. Harper, is currently on trial – facing charges of fraud, breach of trust and bribery in connection to his Senate expense claims – and he has pleaded not guilty on all 31charges.
The Liberals, NDP and Greens certainly don’t have to spend money on attack ads in this early stage of the federal election campaign.
The trial of the embattled senator reconvened after the writ was dropped, and with the election in its third week, Mr. Harper’s former chief of staff Nigel Wright has been grilled on the witness stand.
Every word that is being said and every e-mail that is being entered as testimony are making the front pages of national papers and are the lead stories of television and radio broadcasts.
Without a doubt, Mr. Harper and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) are having their feet put to the coals by Mr. Duffy’s lawyer.
Meanwhile, other members of the Conservative Party hierarchy are slowly but surely being pushed into the spotlight and put under a microscope.
Obviously, it is affecting the federal election campaign.
Trying as hard as he can to get the campaign media coverage to deal with his two strong suits – the economy and security for Canada – Harper has been hounded to answer questions regarding the trial and how much he and his staff knew about Duffy’s $90,000 in “overcharged expenses” being paid out by Wright.
Initially, when the media found out that Wright provided a cheque to Duffy to pay back the money he received for “expenses that weren’t eligible for compensation,” Mr. Harper said that it was between Wright and Duffy and neither he nor the rest of the PMO’s office knew anything about it.
However, Wright’s carefully worded testimony while under cross-examination about who was involved in the plan has caused the media to ask questions about just how far the payback scheme was imbedded in the PMO’s office and which top-echelon employees have been involved.
Some of the answers are shown in various strings of e-mails that have been entered in the trial as evidence.
It has forced Mr. Harper to change his tune and say the “vast majority” of his staff didn’t know about the Duffy payback plan.
However, it got a bit stickier when it was learned Mr. Harper’s current chief of staff, “close confidante” and senior Conservative Party campaign director, Ray Novak, knew about the staging of the payback deal.
As the trial continues and more light is shed on the payback shenanigans, it will get tougher on Mr. Harper and the Conservative candidates as they try to hold onto the government seats in the House.
