Monday, April 27, 2015

Time for Senator Mike Duffy to Seek a Guilty Plea Bargain?

Mike Duffy 
It worked for Basi and Virk, sparing the BC political duo jail time in BC Rail corruption case

Bill Tieleman’s 24 Hours Vancouver / The Tyee column

Tuesday April 14, 2015

By Bill Tieleman

"In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity."


A long-awaited political corruption trial promises bombshell disclosures: Cabinet ministers and the leader's chief of staff will testify; the government fears election-changing damage; the accused profess innocence; and it's all followed by a shocking guilty plea bargain cutting the trial dramatically short.

The case of Senator Mike Duffy?

Sounds very familiar, but this is actually the British Columbia Legislature raid case in 2010, where two accused ministerial aides charged with corruption, repeatedly denied wrongdoing but eventually took a guilty plea bargain that kept them out of jail -- and off the hook for an astonishing $6 million in legal fees over seven years.

And make no mistake, it could happen in the Duffy case, based on my seven years covering the B.C. Legislature raid in court and beyond for The Tyee.

Dave Basi and Bob Virk were BC Liberal government ministerial aides who triggered an unprecedented police raid on the B.C. Legislature over allegations they provided inside information on the $1 billion privatization sale of BC Rail to one of the bidders.

Bill Tieleman interviews Dave Basi outside court

Years of pre-trial motions and hearings produced enough bombshells based on wiretaps, disclosed emails and other evidence to guarantee a riveting trial. It would have been devastating for the BC Liberals, with 40 witnesses expected in a multi-month series of tough cross-examinations.

Plea bargain

But after just two witnesses, one of them Martyn Brown, former B.C. premier Gordon Campbell's chief of staff -- the defence and prosecution suddenly announced a plea bargain that saw Basi and Virk admit guilt they had denied for seven years in exchange for probation sentences and no repayment of a taxpayer-funded legal defence, which cost $6 million.

That deal shocked B.C., particularly since political aides' legal bills are only indemnified if they are found innocent, not guilty, and raised enormous anger about how it conveniently ended a trial guaranteed to badly damage the BC Liberals regardless of the outcome.

Elected cabinet ministers, government officials, prosecution and defence all denied any political interference. But the trial was over.

Now it could happen again with Duffy, whose "diaries" and other evidence are exposing the embarrassing inner workings of the Conservative government just as Basi and Virk did with the BC Liberals.

Why a guilty plea? Duffy faces 31 charges of breach of trust, fraud and bribery, the same Criminal Code offences Basi and Virk were accused of -- and conviction would be equally devastating.

Despite Duffy's bluster, he is a 68-year-old man with heart and health problems. Would anyone want to risk dying in jail in his remaining years?

And his financial situation is ruinous even before trial -- suspended as a senator, without income and little chance of earning a living in journalism or politics even if found innocent, let alone if convicted.

So Duffy's skillful lawyer Donald Bayne is maximizing the impact of every day in this trial, and Bayne knows that the odds of being offered a plea bargain increase significantly as media attention and political pressure build while he offers plausible reasons for acquittal.

None of this is to suggest any wrongdoing by the Conservative government -- simply that the prosecution's goal is a conviction and a plea bargain guarantees it, while a judge's decision on guilt or innocence after much testimony is the great unknown.

Basi and Virk had exceptional defence lawyers in Michael Bolton and Kevin McCullough who did their utmost to exonerate the pair for years and then negotiated the best possible terms in exchange for a guilty plea. Duffy's lawyer Bayne is so far following a very similar course in court, introducing dramatic evidence, exhaustive cross-examination and raising doubts at every turn about the prosecution's case.

Mike Duffy may face a full trial and the Conservatives the full negative impact of vigorous and damning defence testimony and evidence. The verdict is unknown.

But it would be foolish not to think that a guilty plea bargain by Duffy in exchange for leniency is a very probable outcome -- and one that would be welcomed by both the accused and a Conservative Party facing an election in October.

.


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Different cases. I see you want to bring back BC Rail again, to appease the Left Wing.

It's rather odd that BC Rail never came up in the 2013 election, not even the usual loud written screaming from The Tyee contained anything regarding the BC Rail case.

Duffy is adamant that he's not guilty so why would he plea bargain?

At least someone can take a lot of free time for seven years to attend a trial. For that we thank you. For what ever you passed over to Adrian Dix to use against the BC Liberals, we don't. It either wasn't used or didn't work.

Anonymous said...

Excellent analysis Bill. Thanks for bringing up that "deal" regarding Basi and Virk ... must aggravate the the hell out of current Lib. government when you do so.

DPL said...

Duffy sure has a sharp lawyer working for him. Must cost a bundle and as Bill, suggests he could become broke. The senate should be abolished , from the answers coming from senior folks there doesn't seem to be many rules as to how they collect our tax dollars

Anonymous said...

Bill is reliving his watching the BC Rail trial days.

The Liberal government has moved on from the BC Rail Trial, and so should the Left Wing. It was never a big issue during the election. Never brought to the forefront by the NDP or their supporters. It just lives on and on within the Tyee commentators who have too much time on their hands.

Why doesn't Bill follow the "Quick Wins Twins" Brian Bonney and Mark Robertson in detail?

e.a.f. said...

I don't believe for many the Basi/Verk/B.C. Rail will ever be over. The deal was to keep everything under wraps and the two accused to get on with their lives. We will most likely never know if there were other "incentives" for the two accused to get on with their lives.

As it not being part of the last election, well that was the sad mistake of the then NDP leader and we saw how well that worked out, not going negative.

There is a lot of similarities between the Duffy/Con trial and the Basi/Verk/B.C. Lieberal trial. Its about politics for one side and trying to get re-elected and the other side trying to get out of a situation which could ruin them financially.

If Duffy doesn't die of a heart attack prior to the end of the trial, I do expect he will take a "deal". He isn't stupid. Even if he were to die, to escape the mess, he has his wife to consider.

Of course Steve may not be as smart as el gordo/B.C. Lieberals and given Steve just doesn't get the Law, well he has passed 10 bills which got tossed at the Supreme Court of Canada and he is appealing the bail for Omar Khadr, so I have a feeling Steve isn't going to want to make a deal with Duffy. Steve believes what he believes, his bible tells him so, you know the one from the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church, where the bible is "inerrant" and the second coming is "imminent". With a P.M. like that, there may well not be a deal being offered.

Anonymous said...

"I don't believe for many the Basi/Verk/B.C. Rail will ever be over. The deal was to keep everything under wraps and the two accused to get on with their lives. We will most likely never know if there were other "incentives" for the two accused to get on with their lives."

For the Left, Basi/Virk is never over even after two election victories by the BC Liberals. Give it a rest once and for all and move on like the rest of the province has.

"As it not being part of the last election, well that was the sad mistake of the then NDP leader and we saw how well that worked out, not going negative."

The NDP missed big time on that one and also the Ethnic Quick Wins. But everyone knows the NDP knows how to handle the BC Liberals and win elections.

" There is a lot of similarities between the Duffy/Con trial and the Basi/Verk/B.C. Lieberal trial. Its about politics for one side and trying to get re-elected and the other side trying to get out of a situation which could ruin them financially. "

No there isn't Duffy would have had no part in the Conservatives getting re-elected. It is more greed and stupidity on Duffy's part plus an appointed Senate that has few decisive rules about expenses

"If Duffy doesn't die of a heart attack prior to the end of the trial, I do expect he will take a "deal". He isn't stupid. Even if he were to die, to escape the mess, he has his wife to consider. "

Won't take a deal because most likely none will be part of the picture.

"Of course Steve may not be as smart as el gordo/B.C. Lieberals and given Steve just doesn't get the Law, well he has passed 10 bills which got tossed at the Supreme Court of Canada and he is appealing the bail for Omar Khadr, so I have a feeling Steve isn't going to want to make a deal with Duffy. Steve believes what he believes, his bible tells him so, you know the one from the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church, where the bible is "inerrant" and the second coming is "imminent". With a P.M. like that, there may well not be a deal being offered."

Off topic. SInce when did that kid terrorist Khadr get into the plea bargain that Duffy is supposedly be given?