PMO paid for Duffy's fraud

[TimG]

So bribing a Senator to get him to shut up isn't illegal. You sure about that?

Duffy felt he followed the rules. Harper wanted him to pay it back anyway. Giving the senator money to pay back expenses that he was entitled to claim is not a bribe.

In any case, if offering the money was illegal the accepting it is also illegal and Duffy's speech would have incriminated himself. For that reason I am fairly confident that there is nothing illegal about the transaction given that Duffy sought legal advice.

Edited October 25, 2013 by TimG

[Topaz]

Speaking of legal advice were was the PM lawyers in on all this? The 'few" that knew about the pay off didn't they know it was illegal or why didn't they seek legal advice? If the answer is no, then NONE of them should be working on the Hill. Isn't what happen Wright paid the money thinking Duffy would be quiet but when they tried to get rid of him, he turn on them or no one would know about the pay off. There is a good chance Harper told Wright to do what had to be done but get rid of the Duffy and don't tell me if its illegal cause I got in trouble over the Cadman bribe. So maybe Canadians should be looking at the top three Tory senators that dealt with Duffy,Brazeau and Wallin and if the bottom three go without pay, maybe the top three should be gone without pension.

[cybercoma]

Golly gee - Can you imagine how powerful the conspiracy stories would have been had it been supported by documentation? But really, when do we get to see Mulcair questioning Mike Duffy, demanding he produce documents backing conspiracy claims?

You know the best way to get rid of the so-called "conspiracy stories"? Harper and your Conservative ilk actually answering questions. You know, being open and accountable like they promised.

[cybercoma]

Duffy felt he followed the rules. Harper wanted him to pay it back anyway.

Where does Harper get off having him pay it back if Harper thinks Duffy followed the rules? If Harper knew Duffy wasn't following the rules, then Harper knew Duffy wasn't a resident of PEI. Therefore, Harper appointed a Senator out of jurisdiction, which is against the Constitution and shows that he is a terrible Prime Minister.

[On Guard for Thee]

Duffy felt he followed the rules. Harper wanted him to pay it back anyway. Giving the senator money to pay back expenses that he was entitled to claim is not a bribe.

In any case, if offering the money was illegal the accepting it is also illegal and Duffy's speech would have incriminated himself. For that reason I am fairly confident that there is nothing illegal about the transaction given that Duffy sought legal advice.

The whole point of this thing is why was the money given. If it was just a loan to help out a friend, it's obviously fine. If it was given and received in order to shut him up and thwart legal proceedings, then it is definitely illegal, for both. Even if Harper didn't know about it, which is pretty doubtful, then he could find himself testifying in a criminal case. Are we getting much bang for our buck while this scandal goes on and on and on?

[cybercoma]

Again, it's funny how conservative commentators across the country are blasting Harper for his involvement in all of this and more importantly his silence on it, despite promising an open and accountable government. Meanwhile at MLW though, the conservatives are still holding Harper up on their shoulders.

[On Guard for Thee]

Yeah whatever happenned to that "cleaning up Ottawa" idea? Especially from a guy who said he would never appoint an unelected senator.

[Moonlight Graham]

I'm not sure about 'the left', but yeah, I have a real problem with taking Duffy at his word after what we KNOW he did. Any allegations against Harper are coming from people that seem to be trying to save their own skin after their own dishonesty. There's no question Harper has been incompetent with his appointments, but I'm not ready to label him a criminal based on the allegations of some very shady characters.

True enough.

No matter what happens though, Harper is going to come out of this looking really bad. Even if Harper was totally in the dark on the 90k "gift" and what Duffy said was false, Harper still made bad appointments in the Senate and PMO, would show he has no control over his own PMO, and has people in his own PMO doing corrupt, illegal bribes/payouts etc. to corrupt Senators he appointed. I'm not sure Harper has hope to survive this scandal. Hello PM Peter MacKay?

[On Guard for Thee]

True enough.

No matter what happens though, Harper is going to come out of this looking really bad. Even if Harper was totally in the dark on the 90k "gift" and what Duffy said was false, Harper still made bad appointments in the Senate and PMO, would show he has no control over his own PMO, and has people in his own PMO doing corrupt, illegal bribes/payouts etc. to corrupt Senators he appointed. I'm not sure Harper has hope to survive this scandal. Hello PM Peter MacKay?

[On Guard for Thee]

I don't think we want to see that. Up to our ears in debt for a plane that doesn't work very well.

[GostHacked]

True enough.

No matter what happens though, Harper is going to come out of this looking really bad. Even if Harper was totally in the dark on the 90k "gift" and what Duffy said was false, Harper still made bad appointments in the Senate and PMO, would show he has no control over his own PMO, and has people in his own PMO doing corrupt, illegal bribes/payouts etc. to corrupt Senators he appointed. I'm not sure Harper has hope to survive this scandal. Hello PM Peter MacKay?

Harper is making the claim he never knew about any of this. It's a possibility..

http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/very-few-people-aware-of-wright-duffy-deal-stephen-harper-1.1511177

Harper responded: “Mr. Wright made this decision. He has been very clear. He informed very few people. It was his own decision and his own initiative.

McKay PM action figure comes with own Sea Chopper (sold separately).

“Any insinuation or any suggestion that I knew or would have known is incorrect. As soon as I knew, I made this information available to the public and took the appropriate action.”

When Harper faced opposition questions about the bailout deal in the House on June 5, he said Wright chose to give his own money to Duffy, decisions that “were not communicated to me or to members of my office.”

It has since been reported that other PMO senior staff new of the deal, namely Ray Novak, then Harper’s principal secretary who now serves as chief of staff; Chris Woodcock, Harper’s director of issues management; and legal adviser Benjamin Perrin. Both Woodcock and Perrin have since left the PMO.

Harper did not know and no one in the PMOs office aside from the 2-3 we know of. So, there you go. I think.

Also The McKay Action figure comes with his own sea chopper (sold seperately).

Edited October 25, 2013 by GostHacked

[On Guard for Thee]

Harper is making the claim he never knew about any of this. It's a possibility..

http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/very-few-people-aware-of-wright-duffy-deal-stephen-harper-1.1511177

Harper did not know and no one in the PMOs office aside from the 2-3 we know of. So, there you go. I think.

Also The McKay Action figure comes with his own sea chopper (sold seperately).

Cool. Let's get one of those choppers and go fishing. We'll write it off to, oh let's see....I know, the Bev Oda orange juice account.

[PIK]

Cool. Let's get one of those choppers and go fishing. We'll write it off to, oh let's see....I know, the Bev Oda orange juice account.

This bev oda thing is old. When you order something like OJ how many people look at the price. And if she did she would have probably said this is cheaper then up north where I come from.

Edited October 25, 2013 by PIK

[Smallc]

I bet her limo was cheaper too....

[Guest Derek L]

Again, it's funny how conservative commentators across the country are blasting Harper for his involvement in all of this and more importantly his silence on it, despite promising an open and accountable government. Meanwhile at MLW though, the conservatives are still holding Harper up on their shoulders.

Really?

http://opinion.financialpost.com/2013/10/24/terence-corcoran-mike-duffys-verbal-flimflam-turns-villain-into-victim-in-the-eyes-of-the-media/

Terence Corcoran: Mike Duffy’s verbal flimflam turned villain into victim in the eyes of the media

What a spectacle this has been: Two veteran media hacks and professional personalities, skilled manipulators of the public mind, suddenly raised to the status of heroic battlers against an evil prime minister. Overnight, Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin — admitted expense account padders and alleged prevaricators — are elevated to the biggest prime-time roles of their careers, engulfing the government of Canada in a so-called scandal.

From zero to hero........Funny how in the preceding months, the MSM portrayed the Senators as nothing more then the devil incarnates’ (PM Harper) willing henchmen…..but now they have creditability since they’re (unfounded) attacks are levelled against the Prime Minister…

And:

What the media should have been doing throughout this week is go after Mr. Duffy and ask him for the proof he says he has to support his allegations. Where’s the letter he says he has from Marjory LeBreton, former government leader in the Senate, telling him it’s OK to claim Ottawa living expenses by declaring his primary residence is in Prince Edward Island? It’s a cottage that a Deloitte audit — with which Mr. Duffy refused to co-operate — showed Mr. Duffy stayed in almost exclusively during the months of July, August and September?

A very good point, along the same lines as the point I brought up several days ago, why doesn’t Duffy go and sit down with Robert Fife at CTV and retell his story and provide the media with his “evidence”?

As the author pointed out, this entire affair has been blown out of proportion by a biased MSM, and just these several simple points not being addressed is why this “scandal” will not hurt this Government…..just like past “scandals”

(Book)Mark my words…….A larger Conservative majority in 2015.

[Boges]

If you're against the enemy then you're a friend right?

I can't see how this will stick to Harper in 2015. Especially if he's able to balance the budget and implement the populist things he proposed in the Throne Speech.

An Abacus poll out today has the Tories and Liberals tied at 32% amongst those that identify themselves as Middle-Class.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2013/10/24/21220691.html

[guyser]

why doesn’t Duffy go and sit down with Robert Fife at CTV and retell his story and provide the media with his “evidence”?

Only an idiot would present all his evidence willy nilly.

So far its working, the govt keeps tripping over themselves changing the story . Only one person knew....a few people knew...yup, pretty much dumb.

If a few people knew, that means a dozen. Good job Harper.

Of course Duffy et al were vilified, we all thought they were slightly crooked and cheating the system. Now we know the rules are vague, they were given assurances that most were legal , but here...take this money, shut up and resign soon.

[PIK]

He has nothing, but the support of the media. The harper haters are out in force, funny how they have taken duffy's words as gods words,without even asking the man for proof. Harper has now gone into the attack mode and this is going to play right into his hands.

[guyser]

He has nothing, but the support of the media. The harper haters are out in force, funny how they have taken duffy's words as gods words,without even asking the man for proof. Harper has now gone into the attack mode and this is going to play right into his hands.

Line 1 from the post above yours.

Is that you?

Edited October 25, 2013 by Guyser2

[PIK]

Like I saids he has nothing, this is a last resort at trying to get out of this and he has sunk himself. If he had something harper would know and he is now calling duffy's bluff. Notice how the libs are letting tom hang himslef over this, or did they get justin out of the country so he would not embarress the party over it??

Edited October 25, 2013 by PIK

[jacee]

Duffy felt he followed the rules. Harper wanted him to pay it back anyway. Giving the senator money to pay back expenses that he was entitled to claim is not a bribe.

It is illegal if he was paid and extorted to keep quiet and to not cooperate with the auditor, as Duffy reports.

In any case, if offering the money was illegal the accepting it is also illegal ...

Since Duffy didn't keep quiet, and is cooperating with the police investigation, he'll be in less jeopardy from the law than those who tried to buy his silence for political gain.

[GostHacked]

It is illegal if he was paid and extorted to keep quiet and to not cooperate with the auditor, as Duffy reports.

Since Duffy didn't keep quiet, and is cooperating with the police investigation, he'll be in less jeopardy from the law than those who tried to buy his silence for political gain.

I'd still throw the book at him. Need to set an example for other so they get the message that this kind of stuff is wrong. Created less confidence in the government because they can't seem to regulate and police themselves.

[jacee]

He has nothing, but the support of the media. The harper haters are out in force, funny how they have taken duffy's words as gods words,without even asking the man for proof. Harper has now gone into the attack mode and this is going to play right into his hands.

The evidence will be presented in court, in criminal proceedings against Nigel Wright re paying Duffy off for his silence.

[jacee]

I'd still throw the book at him. Need to set an example for other so they get the message that this kind of stuff is wrong. Created less confidence in the government because they can't seem to regulate and police themselves.

I'm sure there will be charges. However, I think Duffy did a public service by not keeping silent.

.

Edited October 25, 2013 by jacee

[PIK]

You're dreaming.