The Prime Minister鈥檚 Office has been withholding from the RCMP an email about the $90,000 cheque Stephen Harper鈥檚 former chief of staff wrote to Sen. Mike Duffy, 麻豆影视 has learned.
RCMP investigators have been trying to obtain the email ever since 麻豆影视 first revealed its existence two months ago.
The prime minister鈥檚 communications director, Andrew MacDougall, confirmed that the email exists.
鈥淢y understanding is it is a paraphrase of conversations that happened,鈥� he told CTV鈥檚 Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife. 鈥淚鈥檝e had them described to me from someone who is no longer here.鈥�
The Feb. 20 email describes a secret deal to have Harper鈥檚 then-chief of staff Nigel Wright personally bail out Duffy, a Conservative senator who improperly claimed $90,172 in living expenses and faced the public release of an audit of his spending.
In the email, Duffy tells his lawyer that Wright worked out a 鈥渟cenario鈥� where all of his invalid expenses would be covered, including 鈥渃ash for the repayment.鈥�
Under the arrangement, Duffy would claim that he personally repaid his debt to taxpayers and the government would use its influence to blunt the outcome of the external audit.
A Conservative-dominated Senate committee subsequently whitewashed a damning audit report on Duffy鈥檚 expenses, which highlighted problems with his residency claims and per diems collected when he wasn鈥檛 in Ottawa on Senate business.
After 麻豆影视 broke the story, Wright resigned and Duffy left the Conservative caucus to sit as an Independent.
The Mounties subsequently launched an investigation into Wright鈥檚 payment to Duffy. The lead investigator has contacted 麻豆影视 twice to ask about the Feb. 20 email. In order to protect his sources, Fife told the Mounties to ask the PMO for the information they need to conduct their investigation.
But insiders say the Prime Minister鈥檚 Office has been withholding that information.
Asked if Wright himself has the email in question, MacDougall said: 鈥淚 can鈥檛 speak for Nigel.鈥�
RCMP affidavits allege that three other senior PMO staffers, including Harper鈥檚 former legal counsel Benjamin Perrin, knew of the deal between Wright and Duffy.
Perrin said he was never consulted on, or participated in, the deal. The Mounties say they have not yet been able to arrange an interview with Perrin.
Harper has maintained that Wright acted alone when he wrote a personal cheque to Duffy.
But NDP ethics critic Charlie Angus said PMO staff 鈥渃learly鈥� knew about the email.
鈥淪o we are being told: 鈥榃ell, we don鈥檛 really know what happened to it. Oh well, it鈥檚 not around anymore.鈥�
Liberal MP Rodger Cuzner said the RCMP should obtain warrants to get the email about the Wright-Duffy deal from the PMO.
Fife reported Tuesday that the Mounties would prefer to see the PMO voluntarily provide all of the relevant information and require anyone with knowledge of the Wright-Duffy deal to come forward.
