Mounties widen probe into Sen. Mike Duffy’s improper expense claims

OTTAWA – The Mounties are combing through the campaign returns of 11 Conservative candidates for whom Sen. Mike Duffy campaigned during the last federal election.

Documents released from the Ottawa courthouse Thursday show the Elections Canada gave the documents to the RCMP on June 5.

The RCMP asked Elections Canada for candidate files on Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver and current Conservative MPs Gerald Keddy, Greg Kerr and John Carmichael, among others.

Reports filed by Const. Jane Won Kyung Lee show the RCMP also obtained a DVD containing Duffy’s declarations of primary and secondary residence, expense claims, minutes of the Senate’s internal economy committee from May 28 and a report by the committee clerk from that same day.

The RCMP has also confirmed it has launched a formal investigation into the involvement of Nigel Wright, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s former chief of staff.

Wright resigned as Harper’s chief of staff last month after acknowledging he gave $90,000 to Duffy to enable him to reimburse the Senate for improperly claimed living expenses.