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PMO withholding Wright/Duffy email from RCMP: report

The Harper government was hoping that their cabinet shuffle would help 'change the channel' on the Senate expense scandal that has dogged them for months.

Well, that lasted for a couple of days.

CTV's Bob Fife is back on the Senate scandal trail, now reporting that the Prime Minister's office is "withholding from the RCMP an email about the $90,000 cheque Stephen Harper’s former chief of staff wrote to Sen. Mike Duffy."

In the email, Duffy tells his lawyer that Wright worked out a “scenario” where all of his invalid expenses would be covered, including “cash for the repayment.”

Under the arrangement, Duffy would claim that he personally repaid his debt to taxpayers and the government would use its influence to blunt the outcome of the external audit.

Sources tell Fife that the RCMP haven't issued a search warrant, as of yet, because they want the PMO to "voluntarily disclose" any information they have.

The full CTV story and interview with Fife can be seen here.

[ Related: More bad news for Tories as details of RCMP case against Mike Duffy emerge ]

Yahoo! Canada News sent an email to the PMO asking for comment on this latest revelation.

Here is a response from Press Secretary Julie Vaux:

Contrary to CTV’s reporting, our office has not been asked for this email. As we have always said, we will assist investigations into this matter.

Two weeks ago, RCMP court documents suggested that Duffy and Wright had an agreement whereby Wright would repay the $90,000 and that the audit regarding Duffy's expenses would be toned down.

The filing also claims that at least three people at the Prime Minister's office, along with Tory Senator Irving Gerstein, knew of Wright's decision to cut the cheque which eventually led to his resignation.

[ More Political Points: Harper government enemies list: what’s the big deal? ]

Whether the PMO is "withholding" or hasn't been asked for that specific email, the CTV's 'expose' should be a stark reminder to the government that the Senate expense scandal isn't going anywhere. That despite a fresh shiny cabinet with four "new women" the inappropriate actions of Wright, Duffy, Patrick Brazeau and Pamela Wallin will continue to haunt them for the next several weeks, months and even years.

Twitter reaction to the CTV story:

Stephen Maher from Postmedia News:

Former Brian Mulroney Chief of Staff Norman Spector:

CBC's This Hour Has 22 Minutes:

(Photo courtesy of the Canadian Press)

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