Harper could make mistake by not testifying in Duffy trial: expert
Posted Sep 20, 2014 1:54 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A crisis communications specialist believes Prime Minister Stephen Harper may do more harm than good if he chooses not to testify if he’s called as a witness in the trial for disgraced Senator Mike Duffy.
Allan Bonner, of Allan Bonner Communications tells Macleans on the Hill, a talk show between Rogers Radio and Macleans magazine, said it’s a better strategy to take the stand and deal with the questions than using tactics to avoid them.
“I think that it’s going to create mystery and you don’t like mystery so for the most part, the facts of the matter are easier to swallow even if they’re negative than is a mystery,” Bonner said.
The lawyer for Duffy won’t count out calling the PM as a witness, but Harper could use parliamentary privilege to avoid testifying.
“As in the American system, you try on executive privilege or parliamentary privilege or national security all you can and either it works or it doesn’t work and we saw how that didn’t work in Watergate,” Bonner added.
Duffy is facing 31 charges over the senate expense scandal and a trial date is expected to be set on Tuesday.
