Sticking to his story: PM maintains blame belongs to Duffy, Wright,
Denies PMO OK’d contact with auditors
Prime Minister Stephen Harper ducked questions Friday over a “culture” in his own office that led his staff to try to alter an independent audit earlier this year into Sen. Mike Duffy’s housing expenses.
Instead, Harper stuck to a line he has used throughout the growing Senate expense scandal — putting the blame on just Duffy and his former chief of staff, Nigel Wright.
Harper’s comments came Friday during a trip for a highway funding announcement in Manitoba, where there are two byelections early next week.
Harper couldn’t escape continued questions from journalists, after the release of an RCMP report this week that showed several people in the Prime Minister’s Office, and one senator, were aware of a secret scheme to have Wright repay Duffy’s expenses.
The report also alleged in great detail how the PMO tried to derail a forensic audit by Deloitte into Duffy’s expenses, including having Sen. Irving Gerstein intervene with the independent auditing company.
Harper has said he was kept in the dark.
At a news conference, Harper was asked what it says about the “culture” within his office that his staff tried to alter or influence the audit.
Harper would not speak about his staff and instead focused on how the RCMP “with the full assistance of my office, has been looking into all of these matters.”
“There are two individuals who are responsible and under investigation, as we said from the outset. They are Mr. Duffy and Mr. Wright and we will do everything to make sure the investigation proceeds and those who acted improperly are held accountable.”
The Mounties allege Wright and Duffy committed bribery, fraud and breach of trust through their repayment scheme — although no charges have been laid and none of the allegations has been proven in court.
Harper was asked if he or anyone in his office had given Gerstein approval to contact Deloitte.
“No,” said the prime minister.
This appeared to contradict evidence in which the Mounties revealed Wright had asked Gerstein to approach the auditors.
Later in the day, Harper spokesman Jason MacDonald said: “The prime minister was answering for himself. He had no knowledge of Gerstein’s efforts to contact Deloitte or that he (Gerstein) had been asked to do that. The RCMP document speaks for itself.”
The scandal has prompted continued fire in the House of Commons, but grassroots Tory voters don’t seem alienated.
“People are talking about it all the time, but they’re not drawing any conclusions; they’re just saying this is great political theatre,” said longtime Quebec Tory Peter White.
“They’re not saying this means anything one way or the other, that the prime minister is in trouble or that he isn’t.”
White said the new evidence has called the prime minister’s credibility into question.
“It’s beginning to look as though there is a coverup and that’s the problem,” said White, who still believes Harper will clinch a majority government in 2015.
“We’re not in any serious danger yet, but there has to be an airing of all of this publicly.”
Edmonton MP Brent Rathgeber, a former Conservative who now sits as an independent, said his office has been flooded with calls and emails from troubled constituents.
In the southern Ontario riding of Sarnia-Lambton, Conservative riding association president Marilyn Gladu said constituents are “concerned” by the ongoing scandal but “people who hold Tory views are still going to hold the same views.”
“People tend to hold Stephen Harper in reasonably high regard.”