A trove of e-mails from Nigel Wright, the Prime Minister's chief of staff in 2013, was tabled Wednesday at the trial of Senator Mike Duffy. The messages flew back and forth between senior Conservative staffers as the Senate expenses scandal unfolded. These are some of the people who sent, received or were mentioned in the notes.
Ray Novak
In 2013, he was the Prime Minister’s principal secretary. Now, he’s the chief of staff. A long-time loyal staffer to Stephen Harper, Mr. Novak was described as the second-in-command in the office by Nigel Wright in testimony Wednesday.
Andrew MacDougall
At the time, he was director of communications for the Prime Minister, and a long-time spokesperson before that. He left the position in August of 2013 for a post with a large communications firm in London, England.
Chris Woodcock
One of three people who knew about the $90,000 cheque, according to a sworn statement Mr. Wright made to the RCMP. Mr. Woodcock was director of issues management in the PMO. He quit in July of 2013 to become chief of staff for Joe Oliver, Natural Resources Minister at the time.
Patrick Rogers
Manager of parliamentary affairs for the Prime Minister, and son of CTV vice-president Paul Rogers. His e-mails first described efforts by the Conservative Party to persuade auditing firm Deloitte to drop their audit of Mr. Duffy.
Janice Payne
A partner at law firm Nelligan O’Brien Payne, she was Mr. Duffy’s lawyer. She’s mentioned in the disputed “good to go” e-mail.
Benjamin Perrin
Then a special legal adviser to the PMO, he allegedly brokered the deal between Mr. Wright and Mr. Duffy. He was another one of the three people who knew about the $90,000 cheque, according to the sworn statement by Mr. Wright.
David Tkachuk
A conservative senator, he stepped down as chair of the senate committee on internal economy, budgets and administration in 2013 after critics accused him of tipping off Mr. Duffy about the results of an independent audit.
Marjory LeBreton
Ms. LeBreton was, at the time, the Government Leader in the Senate. RCMP documents suggest she knew about the proposal to end the Deloitte audit if Mr. Duffy’s expenses were repaid.
Chris Montgomery
Director of parliamentary affairs for Ms. LeBreton. He urged Mr. Rogers and Mr. Woodcock to not get involved with the senate audit. He left in September of 2013 and now works for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.
Stephen Lecce
PMO spokesperson. He now serves on Mr. Harper’s campaign.
David van Hemmen
Mr. Wright’s former executive assistant, he was the third of three people Mr. Wright swore knew about the $90,000 cheque.