Nigel Wright Leaves Stand, but Political Questions Remain

Harper's former lawyer next witness to take the stand

Nigel Wright, former Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, leaves the courthouse on Aug. 19, 2015, following his last day of testimony at the trial of former Conservative Senator Mike Duffy. The politically incendiary information that emerged during Wright’s six days on the stand raises a new set of questions for Harper. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang

OTTAWA—Nigel Wright heads back to his executive life in London after a six-day stint in the witness box at the Mike Duffy trial, leaving in his wake a new set of political questions for his former boss.

And as Stephen Harper’s former chief of staff exits the stage, the prime minister’s former lawyer Benjamin Perrin is set to enter.

Wright’s testimony at suspended Senator Duffy’s fraud, breach of trust, and bribery trial served to flesh out the story around his secret repayment of Duffy’s $90,000 in contested Senate expenses.

While the RCMP had already established the broad strokes, Wright and the hundreds of emails that were filed as evidence drew a more complete picture of the elaborate, backroom machinations involving Duffy and several figures in the PMO in 2013.

Where the scandal was at first about Wright's secret repayment, it has now morphed into an issue of honesty and transparency as contradictions pile up.