December 21st 2015
Crown counsel cross-examining Mike Duffy in his bribery and corruption trial didn't ask a single question concerning the $90,000 cheque lying at the heart of this case. To any trial lawyer, that's the clearest signal that they’ve given up the ghost on this trial.
Whether it's a dead duck, a turkey, or a Norwegian Blue parrot, the party's over for this bird. Duffy will walk on the bribery counts.
Stripped of legal flotsam and jetsam over hairdressers and personal trainers, this case was always about one thing and one thing only: the personal cheque from then PMO chief of staff Nigel Wright to Mike Duffy. Or rather, to be exact, a bank draft to Duffy’s lawyer in the amount of $90,172.24.
According to the RCMP and Crown theories, Mike Duffy accepted a bribe from Nigel Wright of same. On Thursday, the Crown quietly folded its tent.
Those charges always reeked of unfairness. Bribery, like drug trafficking, ensnares both sides in the transaction. If the Crown’s theory was that Mike Duffy had accepted a bribe from Nigel Wright, it never washed that Wright wasn’t charged.
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Full piece:
http://www.nationalobserver.com/2015/12/21/opinion/how-crown-cooked-its-...