Friday, April 10, 2015

Michael Harris: Why Stephen Harper Should be Testifying at the Duffy Trial



In my last post I wrote about how the Mike Duffy trial is already turning into a real nightmare for Stephen Harper.

Duffy's lawyer is trying to bind the two men together, and show how close they once were.

Which can only damage Great Leader, and further taint his reputation.

But as Michael Harris writes, if there was any justice Stephen Harper would also be in court, and testifying under oath. 

The prime minister of Canada likes to hold everyone to account but himself. It’s a dictator thing. Stephen Harper says he won’t be called to testify at Senator Mike Duffy’s criminal trial. Usually lawyers get to decide that, not prospective witnesses. Still, he’s probably right.

Harper also says the reason he won’t be called is that he doesn’t know anything about the alleged criminal matters now before the court. Nothing could be further from the truth.


Because as Harris points out, Duffy the senator/ big fat cash machine was Harper's creation...



The prime minister effectively created and then destroyed Duffy as a politician. He appointed him to the Senate, then ran him out of the Red Chamber on a rail — but not before turning him into a human cash register for the party, as a cursory glance through Duffy’s personal diaries will confirm. 

This is no ordinary trial.

More than anyone else, Harper set in motion the chain of events that led to the Ottawa criminal court where this senator from somewhere will be judged. This is a political trial every bit as much as it is a serious criminal proceeding.

And Harper bears as much, or more responsibility than Duffy, for the scandal he created...



In fact, a strong case can be made that the whole housing expenses dilemma was created by the prime minister from the get-go. Sources say that at the time of his appointment to the Senate, Duffy had asked to be appointed from Ontario, where he had lived for decades. 

He was worried about blowback if he was appointed from Prince Edward Island, which was little more than the nostalgic homestead of his childhood days — though he did own a cottage and had family ties there. It was the prime minister who apparently insisted that Duffy be appointed from P.E.I., allegedly telling his appointee that his critics “would get over it.”

And then tried to cover-up.

So he should be in the witness box explaining his actions, if truth and justice are to be served.

Mike Duffy is facing jail time, ejection from the Senate, financial ruin and permanent disgrace if he is found guilty of fraud and breach of trust. Everyone who can confirm the facts or any part of them in this case should be in court and under oath — and that includes the man who ordered Mike Duffy to repay the expenses in the first place.

And the good news? 

As I pointed out in my last post, Harper is now being judged in the court of public opinion.

The verdict will be delivered on the date of the next election.

And if there is any justice, it will be a harsh one...



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21 comments:

  1. Take away the Teflon and what have you got???????

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    1. hi Kathleen...nothing but a desperate leader and the stench of corruption...

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  2. Anonymous8:53 AM

    'They'll get over it.' I'm sure that's the mantra that he repeats endlessly to himself over all the corrupt doings of his government. But each time some little question stays in our minds and cumulatively they add up to complete rejection of him as a human being. When I see his picture on TV I shudder.

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    1. hi anon...yes and I don't think you're the only Canadian who feels that way. I was playing pool the other day in a crowded bar, and when Harper appeared on a TV screen quite a few people starting shouting and booing. I don't think polls can measure how much Canadians despise him...

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  3. In reality harper is the one on trial here and his day of judgement is getting nearer.

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    1. hi Ron...you're absolutely right. I was sure that was going to happen but even I have been surprised at how much damage that trial has already done him...

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  4. Anonymous10:26 AM

    Michael Harris does an outstanding job of journalism. You are pretty good yourself Simon when are you going you write a book, you should you'd be good a best seller perhaps?

    Um I didn't know your partener Sebastion was so famous that he had a State Park in The Sunshine State named after him...

    https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-buzz/in-florida-bobcat-snatches-shark-out-of-the-ocean-151101577.html

    Enjoy and get some laughs I've never heard about anything like this but wildlife officials say its real. So the shark and the bobcat were fishing in the same waters.

    We may need to use this picture as Stephen Joesph Harper pictured as the shark and whom ever defeats him being the bobcat. That's my moring laugh!!!!!!!!!

    Big cheers,
    Mogs Moglio

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    1. hi Mogs...I'm actually writing a novel. I feel that non-fiction can't really capture the horror of the Harper years. As for Sébastien's park, thank goodness his name has an 'e' and an accent in it because he's allergic to cats...;)

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  5. e.a.f.1:41 PM

    from a strategic point Harper's non attendance may play well for Duffy. Duffy's lawyer makes the allegations, and a preponderance of allegations can eventually make a fact. Harper doesn't want to testify, thats just fine. People will wonder why and may not buy his explanation, especially in view of the other information which has been brought forward, i.e. how "close" they actually where.

    If harper takes the stand, it gives him an opportunity to tell his version of the truth, which may sway the judge. Right now it going to be duff's testimony along with the diary's, and other witnesses. from the early goings I'd say duffy is acquitted. If stevie testifies, that may not happen. If stevie were to testify he may revert to the B.C. Rail Trial method, I don't know, I don't remember. Leave Harper out of the court room, it plays much better.

    harper may have been in B.C. to get tips on how to survive a trial, like the el gored gang did, with the B.C. Rail trial.

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    1. hi e.a.f...yes I believe that myself. Not testifying will do him more damage than if he actually takes the witness stand. Although if he did he might sway the judge, but most Canadians wouldn't believe him, so either way he can't win...

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  6. If we still had a funtioning justice system Harper would have to talk, and his aids would be not only be looking or retrovirus solutions but also being charged with half a crime.

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    1. hi Steve...I'm sure Harper is afraid that he might be called to testify, but as I just told e.a.f., whether he testifies or not he can't win or we can't lose...

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  7. Not only should he be on trail, but he should also be declared a dangerous offender.

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    1. hi sassy...well as you know when he does go to trial, I will be in the court room to remind the judge what Harper once said: Life means LIFE.... ;)

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  8. e.a.f.12:06 AM

    sassy, yes I do agree harper ought to be declared a dangerous offender, but we will have to wait until and international court has him arrested for war crimes, etc.

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    1. hi e.a.f....no no, the international court is too lenient, and thirty years won't be enough... ;)

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  9. In Dec. 2008, law expert David Bulger said Mike Duffy's appointment to P.E.I.'s Senate seat was unconstitutional:

    http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Politics/2008-12-24/article-1291195/Seat-for-Duffy-invalid-Bulger/1

    http://www.macleans.ca/politics/is-mike-duffy-eligible-to-represent-pei-in-the-senate/

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    1. hi David...yes I saw that, and it only makes it even clearer that Harper knew what he was doing, but flouted the law anyway...

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  10. Just in case Harper IS called to testify at the Duffy trial, Harper is rehearsing his lines:

    "I knew nothing, saw nothing, was told nothing, asked nothing, and did nothing. The Wright-Duffy deal was pulled off right under my nose by my most trusted confidantes. Yes, I DID tell Wright I was 'good to go', but I meant 'good to go' for Duffy to repay his own illegal expenses."

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    1. hi David...you might be joking, but I'm sure his arguments would be exactly that. In fact the last line is already being used by the Cons to explain the good to go, and it couldn't be more absurd...

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  11. e.a.f.11:50 PM

    David, that is so funny, but my money is on the B.C. Rail trail routine, that was most likely why he was in B.C., just getting a little coaching from the "sparkle pony" queen's boys: I don't remember, I don't recall. it was like all these guys got dementia of some sort in one week. They recovered as soon as the deal was made with Basi an Verk.

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