Suspended Senator Mike Duffy's fraud, bribery and breach of trust case will begin on April 7 and last for 41 days through June, lawyers agreed in court today.
These dates mean it's likely any damaging information for the Harper government will emerge before the next federal election, expected in fall 2015, according to fixed election date legislation.
Duffy was not in court again Tuesday. But his lawyer, Donald Bayne, met briefly with reporters outside after his appearance.
"We trust that the evidence will show Senator Duffy is innocent of these charges," Bayne said.
No pleas were entered in court Tuesday. But the CBC's Hannah Thibedeau reports from the courthouse that when Bayne first stood up in court, he said Duffy would plead not guilty to all 31 of the charges against him.
Bayne told reporters after the first court date last week that Duffy wanted to skip preliminary hearings and proceed straight to trial, in part because his health was not good.
The trial is set for April 7-May 12, and then June 1-19 and will be heard by judge alone.
Thibedeau said that it may have been difficult to find 12 impartial jurors who didn't have an opinion of Duffy, the Senate or the Harper government in general.
The arguments at trial are expected to be complicated, with multiple charges based on various contracts and interpretations of rules and legislation.
Over the more than eight weeks, many witnesses could be called, including individuals who have served or continue to serve at the heart of the Harper government.
Mike Duffy's trial on 31 charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust related to his Senate expenses will start in April. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
Thibedeau said the trial is expected to feature "mounds of testimony, lots of documents," and the witness list "will be a political who's who here in Ottawa, including Senate leadership ... as well as main aides around the prime minister including Nigel Wright, the former chief of staff to the prime minister."
Wright, who now lives and works in London, U.K. for Onex Corporation, has kept his own counsel since the Duffy affair began, and his eventual testimony under oath is hotly anticipated.
Keith Beardsley, who served as a deputy chief of staff to Prime Minister Stephen Harper for five years, told CBC News last week that the closer the trial is to the next federal election expected in 2015, the more damaging the information that could come out at trial may be for the Conservatives.
Duffy's 31 criminal charges relate to his Senate expense claims, which stem from his housing and travel charges and a $90,000 "gift" that Wright gave to Duffy when controversy emerged over his expense claims, and the former Tory senator was under a lot of political pressure to pay taxpayers back.
The prime minister on many occasions has insisted that he knew nothing of the plan to repay Duffy's expenses.
Last week, Tories on Parliament Hill continued to distance themselves from the disgraced senator, with one saying he was "obviously guilty."
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