Close X
Thursday, November 14, 2024
ADVT 
National

Counsel Of Bible Helped Wright Decide To Help Duffy, Keep It Quiet, Court Told

The Canadian Press, 13 Aug, 2015 02:02 PM
    OTTAWA — Nigel Wright, Stephen Harper's former chief of staff, says he was trying to quietly do a "good deed" when he gave Mike Duffy $90,000, then privately notified the prime minister's director of issues management.
     
    Wright, a devoutly religious man, is telling court he was following the advice of a Bible passage that counsels "righteousness," but warns against doing it in front of others for the sake of self-aggrandizement.
     
    "This is sort of Matthew 6, right?" he told court, citing Scripture.
     
    "You should do those things quietly, and 'not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.'"
     
    It's the second day on the stand for Wright, who has travelled from London, England, to testify as the Duffy trial's star witness.
     
    Wright says he decided to give Duffy the money after the original plan to see the Conservative party cover the bill — believed initially to be $32,000 — fell through when the cost suddenly soared to more than $90,000.
     
    "I came to that decision, I think, in a day or two after that I understood that the Conservative fund would not pay," Wright said.
     
    Wright said he felt he needed to inform Chris Woodcock, the director of issues management inside the Prime Minister's Office, about where the money actually came from.
     
    "As director of issues management, Chris was responsible for a team that would be involved in preparing responses to questions and inquires we'd receive, mostly from the media," he testified.
     
    "I thought Chris needed to know this piece of information just in case he would approve an answer on something that would be wrong because he didn't know it was fact."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Indian American Pre-Dental Student Sachin Kumar, 22, Faces 5 Years In Prison For Online Fraud

    Indian American Pre-Dental Student Sachin Kumar, 22, Faces 5 Years In Prison For Online Fraud
    Sachin Kumar, 22, who is from New York earned money by selling fraudulent event tickets over StubHub, using accounts set up in fictitious name, Tampa Bay Times newspaper reported.

    Indian American Pre-Dental Student Sachin Kumar, 22, Faces 5 Years In Prison For Online Fraud

    New Westminster Senior, 91, Questioned After Vandalism Of Rainbow Pride Crosswalk

    New Westminster Senior, 91, Questioned After Vandalism Of Rainbow Pride Crosswalk
    NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. — Police in New Westminster, B.C., are investigating a 91-year-old man after white paint was dumped on a rainbow Pride crosswalk in the city's downtown core.

    New Westminster Senior, 91, Questioned After Vandalism Of Rainbow Pride Crosswalk

    Feds Award $114m Grant To University Of Toronto For Regenerative Medicine Program

    Feds Award $114m Grant To University Of Toronto For Regenerative Medicine Program
    Prof. Peter Zandstra says the new initiative called Medicine By Design could make it possible to improve treatments for such conditions as cancer, diabetes and blindness.

    Feds Award $114m Grant To University Of Toronto For Regenerative Medicine Program

    Dead Indian American Woman Hinal Patel, 22, Was To Go To Medical School

    Dead Indian American Woman Hinal Patel, 22, Was To Go To Medical School
    A New Jersey-based Indian American woman emergency health worker, who died when a car slammed into her ambulance on July 25, was all set to go to medical school from July 27

    Dead Indian American Woman Hinal Patel, 22, Was To Go To Medical School

    BC Appeal Court Upholds Dangerous Offender Status For Sexually Predator Kolten Mastronardi

    BC Appeal Court Upholds Dangerous Offender Status For Sexually Predator Kolten Mastronardi
    Kolten Mastronardi was declared a dangerous offender in 2012 and given an indeterminate sentence after being found guilty on 12 counts of sexual assault,

    BC Appeal Court Upholds Dangerous Offender Status For Sexually Predator Kolten Mastronardi

    Two Calgary Men Convicted In Elaborate Ponzi Scheme Sentenced To 12 Years Each

    Two Calgary Men Convicted In Elaborate Ponzi Scheme Sentenced To 12 Years Each
    Gary Sorenson, 71, and Milowe Brost, 61, were found guilty of fraud and theft in February for an elaborate, multimillion-dollar scheme in which investors were promised unrealistic returns.

    Two Calgary Men Convicted In Elaborate Ponzi Scheme Sentenced To 12 Years Each