'I don't think I lied to the prime minister': Wright tells Duffy trial

Justice Charles Vaillancourt, left, and Nigel Wright at the Mike Duffy trial on in this court sketch from Monday, August 17, 2015. (Greg Banning)

Stephen Harper’s former chief of staff says he didn’t lie to the prime minister when he told him that Mike Duffy would be repaying his expenses and that he didn’t want the senator to go ahead with an audit because it might hurt the Conservatives politically.

Duffy’s lawyer, Donald Bayne, asked Nigel Wright on the stand Monday why he lied to Harper when he told him that the former Conservative senator would repay the money, when, in fact, the Conservative Party had originally agreed to foot the bill.

“I don’t think I lied to the prime minister,” Wright answered.

“I just felt it wasn’t on my list of things I needed to check with him,” Wright added.

Wright ended up personally repaying Duffy’s expenses after it turned out they totalled $90,000 -- not $32,000 as originally estimated.

Bayne also asked Wright why he was okay with the fact that Duffy went on television and said he had repaid the money when that wasn’t true.

“This is what he required in order to make the repayment,” Wright said, adding, “I thought the repayment itself was critical.”

Bayne has repeatedly suggested that Wright forced Duffy into a PMO-orchestrated plan to repay the money, even though the senator wanted to defend himself.

On Monday, Bayne said that Duffy was “quite willing” to co-operate with an audit by the firm Deloitte and to “let the chips fall.”

Bayne asked Wright, “Why didn’t you let him?”

Wright said that he didn’t want Duffy to defend his claims publically because it could hurt the Conservatives politically, telling the court “the expenses were wrong.”

Bayne also referred to an email Duffy wrote to his lawyer Janice Payne in February 2013, saying that Wright and others in the Prime Minister’s Office had worked out a “scenario” for him that includes “cash for the repayment.”

Duffy wrote that Wright didn’t make a direct threat, but one that “seems obvious” -- the senator either had to agree to the deal or be thrown out of the Red Chamber based on a residency issue.

Wright told the court Duffy’s characterization of their conversation was inaccurate and that there was “no implicit or explicit threat.”

Wright testified he simply didn’t find Duffy’s argument that his true home was in Prince Edward Island “persuasive.”

Wright said he didn’t want the former Conservative senator to publicly defend himself by claiming that P.E.I. was his primary residence. The government “would not stand behind” Duffy if he claimed that he lived in P.E.I, he said.

Wright said from an “issues management” perspective, it was “better for Sen. Duffy” if people believed he had paid back the money himself.

He also said that Duffy did not have caucus support.

“There were members who were quite upset with these expenses.”

Bayne suggested that Duffy, defending his expenses, “affected the government reputation and your objective was to get this done quickly.”

Wright agreed.

Last week, Wright testified he viewed paying Duffy’s expenses as an “obligation” and he believed he was doing the right thing.

But Bayne hasn’t pulled any punches during his cross-examination, suggesting Wright actions weren’t a “good deed,” but rather a political cover-up.

Bayne has been arguing that Duffy resisted the repayment plan and was forced to go along with it against his will.

Wright said Monday that he had to be persistent with Duffy, but the senator agreed to the plan on his own.

Wright said that even if a Deloitte audit of Duffy’s expenses concluded they were “technically OK,” that wouldn’t “achieve what I wanted, which was to have expenses repaid.”

“It was not what was technically OK, it is whether it’s right or wrong.” Wright said.

Last week, Wright told the court that Harper only knew in “broad terms” he was working on getting Duffy to repay his expenses.

Harper didn’t know of the original plan to have the Conservative Party pay, nor that Wright himself ended up handing over the $90,000, he testified.

Harper has maintained he had no knowledge of the Wright-Duffy deal.

During a campaign stop in Fredericton, N.B., on Monday, Harper didn’t directly answer questions about the involvement of other PMO staff, which is detailed in numerous emails tabled in court.

Harper was asked how he felt about the fact that his current chief of staff, Ray Novak, “knowingly allowed (him) to repeat a lie for months that Mike Duffy had repaid his own expenses when that wasn't the case.”

“I've been very clear about this,” Harper responded.

“I hold Mr. Duffy accountable for not having repaid his expenses, and Mr. Wright responsible for those expenses not having been repaid. It was those two gentlemen's obligation to make sure this was done correctly. They did not, and they are solely responsible, and that's why they are being held accountable.”

Novak was among those who was copied on emails related to the plan for to repay Duffy’s expenses, including one sent by Wright to Novak and PMO lawyer Benjamin Perrin on March 23, 2013 that said in part, "I will send my cheque on Monday."

Duffy’s lawyer suggested Tuesday that he would not call Novak as a witness.

Criminal defence lawyer Leo Russomanno explained on CTV Power Play that “calling a witness as part of your case that’s not necessarily friendly to your client is a very dangerous proposition … because he can’t lead the witness the way that Mr. Bayne has been doing so the last few days to Mr. Wright.”

“If you think you have a witness that isn’t going to give you what you want and isn’t going to be friendly to your case, you’re basically just going to provide them with forum to bury your client,“ Russomanno said.

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