Timing is everything

Mike Duffy Trial: Top Tory Figures Will Also Land In Defence's Sights

OTTAWA - Suspended senator Mike Duffy may be the one on trial, but he won't be only person to see their motives, character and actions dissected, examined and critiqued over the next several weeks inside an Ottawa courtroom.

Beginning Tuesday, Crown lawyers will lay out their fraud, breach of trust and bribery case against the former Conservative — 31 charges in total.

But so too will begin attorney Donald Bayne's defence of Duffy, a counter-attack that will likely focus in part on the behaviour of key figures from the Prime Minister's Office and party circles.

The expected release of new documents and internal emails in the form of court exhibits has the capacity to breathe new life into the political scandal that consumed the House of Commons two years ago.

A crush of media interest in the trial has prompted officials to establish an overflow room at the downtown Ottawa courthouse where several camera angles are displayed on large screens in order to accommodate journalists.