Duffy says he welcomes same Senate committee re-examining his expenses

OTTAWA – Mike Duffy says he’s pleased that his expenses will again be reviewed by the same Senate committee that gave him the green light last month.

The Conservative-dominated upper chamber has decided that its secretive internal economy committee will re-examine Duffy’s controversial housing and expense claims in light of new information gleaned from recent media reports.

The Conservative-controlled committee cleared Duffy of any wrongdoing last month, while at the same time sharply criticizing the actions of two other senators who were found to have made similar inappropriate expense claims.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s chief of staff has since resigned after admitting he gave Duffy a personal cheque for more than $90,000 to reimburse his inappropriate claims.

Duffy has not spoken publicly since resigning from the Conservative caucus last Thursday but has now released a statement saying he welcomes the re-examination of his expenses and is confident the committee will find that his actions “do not merit criticism.”

In the House of Commons, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair says sending Duffy’s expenses back to the same committee that whitewashed its first report is akin to former Liberal leader Paul Martin asking Jean Chretien to investigate the sponsorship scandal.