The Privy Council Office has informed the RCMP that emails belonging to Benjamin Perrin, the former counsel for the Prime Minister's Office named in court documents related to a deal between Nigel Wright and Senator Mike Duffy, were not deleted as was previously believed.
Court documents released last month show Wright, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's former chief of staff, is being investigated for bribery, fraud and breach of trust along with Senator Mike Duffy, in an RCMP probe that has expanded to include the Prime Minister's Office.
In a statement released Sunday evening, the PCO says it was wrong when it told the RCMP and the PMO that Perrin's emails had been deleted when he left his position in March.
In fact, Perrin's account had been frozen "due to unrelated litigation."
"We regret that we previously failed, even if inadvertently, to accurately inform you [the RCMP] and the PMO about the availability of Mr. Perrin's emails," the PCO says in a letter to the RCMP. "We apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused."
Benjamin Perrin, a UBC law professor, was the special adviser and legal counsel to the Prime Minister between 2012-13. (CBC)
The PCO says it will turn the email records over to the RCMP immediately.
In 2012-13, Perrin took a leave of absence from his job at the University of British Columbia to work for the Prime Minister's office. He served as the PMO's legal counsel and, according to his website, was the lead policy adviser on all matters related to:
- The Department of Justice.
- Public Safety Canada, including the RCMP, Canada Border Services Agency, Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Correctional Service of Canada and the Parole Board of Canada.
- Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
At UBC, Perrin teaches criminal law and procedure, and international criminal law.
'Monstrous fraud'
The documents centre around an alleged payment scheme involving Duffy's contested living expenses.
The court documents reveal more details about the inner workings of the PMO and how involved it was in trying to fix the situation with Duffy's expenses.
Who is Benjamin Perrin?
Benjamin Perrin was involved in back-and-forth negotiations between Wright and Duffy through the senator's lawyer, Janice Payne, according to RCMP documents. Perrin was one of four people Wright told about the real source of the $90,000.
He was the special adviser and legal counsel to the Prime Minister, but is now out of government and works as a law professor at the University of British Columbia.
Read more about the connections revealed in emails read by investigators.
In the court documents, police say there are reasonable grounds to believe Wright offered money or favour to Duffy contrary to the Criminal Code, and allege Duffy agreed to accept the offer of money.
Police also allege Wright and Duffy "have committed bribery, frauds on the government, and breach of trust."
The RCMP affidavit suggests Conservative Fund Canada chairman Sen. Irving Gerstein was prepared at one point to use party funds to repay Duffy. According to the documents, the alleged agreement included a condition that once Duffy repaid the expenses, he would be reimbursed by a third party. Ultimately, Wright paid out of his own pocket when the bill — $90,000 — got too high for the party to bear.
The documents include email excerpts that suggest numerous senior officials in the PMO were involved in the negotiations, as well as in writing the report by the Senate committee that handled the audit process.
They also allege that Duffy himself was the instigator behind what he described in the Senate last month as a "monstrous fraud."
Duffy, along with Senators Pamela Wallin and Patrick Brazeau, was suspended over the expenses scandal last month. The Senate also voted to cut their salaries and use of office resources.
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