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He never really had access to the funds personally as it was set up for his lawyers

Norman was later charged with one count of breach of trust, but on May 8 the charge was stayed after Norman’s defence team brought new evidence to prosecutors’ attention. Prosecutors told the court that based on the new evidence there was no likelihood of a conviction. It is not known what that evidence was, but sources have told Postmedia at least some of it was related to the former Conservative government’s push to keep the Davie deal on track, and suggested the communication Norman had with Davie that formed the basis for the charge simply showed Norman following orders. Norman, who had entered a plea of not guilty, always maintained he had done nothing wrong.

On Wednesday Norman and the Department of National Defence released a joint statement that the naval officer will retire from the Canadian Forces after reaching a “mutually acceptable agreement, the details of which will remain confidential.”

In an earlier interview with Postmedia, Norman said the money Hammond raised from more than 3,500 people was critical to financing his legal defence as well as giving him and his family a morale boost. To finance his legal battle Norman also took out a large line of credit, using his $600,000 house in the Ottawa suburb of Orleans as collateral. He also borrowed money from friends and supporters.

Norman has declined to discuss the final tally of his legal fees, but sources say it is well over $1 million.

Norman had applied to have his legal bills covered through a fund designed to pay lawyer’s fees for federal public servants who, as a result of their job, found themselves in court. But the Department of National Defence rejected his application, with the department claiming he had provided confidential government information to a third party without authorization. No information was ever provided by the department to support that claim and the department did not undertake any investigation to prove its allegations against Norman. After the case against Norman collapsed in May, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said the federal government would cover his legal costs.