OTTAWA: A Canadian senator at the center of an expenses scandal and alleged political coverup pleaded not guilty Tuesday at the start of his trial for fraud and bribery.
Senator Mike Duffy faces 31 charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust related to his government expense claims, and for the Can$90,172.24 ($72,155) he received from Prime Minister Stephen Harper's then chief-of-staff, Nigel Wright.
"I am not guilty your honor," Duffy replied in an Ottawa court after the accusations were read aloud.
With elections looming in October, any shocking revelations at the trial could be damaging to the Conservatives and Harper's hopes for a fourth mandate since first coming to office in 2006.
Duffy, a former broadcast journalist, faces several years in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors accuse the senator of disbursing taxpayer funds to friends and family for personal expenses including for hair and makeup, and for a fitness trainer.
He is also accused of filing travel expenses for "partisan political activities" such as giving speeches at party fundraisers, and for personal trips including to buy a puppy, and attend his daughter's play.
Prosecutor Mark Holmes said Duffy was also either an "equal partner or the instigator" of a failed scheme involving the prime minister's staff to cover up Duffy's allegedly illicit spending.
Duffy himself has said the coverup was meant to quell a public uproar over Senate spending and make a political situation embarrassing to Harper's base go away.
He said the prime minister's office came up with the plan that led to his criminal prosecution.
But federal police have described the scheme as a "monstrous fraud" that began with Duffy's demands for money.
Meanwhile, Nigel Wright was forced to resign after it was revealed that he wrote Duffy a check to help the lawmaker repay housing and travel expenses that he claimed were Senate expenses.
He will be called to testify at the trial, which is scheduled to last 41 days.
Court documents state there is no direct evidence Harper knew about the payment or that he was involved. Harper himself has denied any knowledge of the scheme.
But the opposition has raised questions about an email from Wright to others about repaying Duffy's expenses, in which Wright says he was "good to go from the PM."
The defense is expected to argue that the Senate expense rules were not clear, and that Senator Duffy's claimed expenses were for "perfectly normal" government business.
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