Article content continued

“The sole preoccupation behind Duffy’s conduct is to do what is best for Mike Duffy. That is behaviour he’ll never fake,” was how Martin ended the segment.

While the rant was aired during the 5 p.m. show, it was yanked from a later rebroadcast of the show and was not posted on CTV’s website as it normally would.

Sources at CTV News have told the National Post the rant made producers “nervous” and it was pulled after receiving legal advice.

Martin’s comments could also be perceived as being embarrassing to CTV brass, as he said Duffy — who was a host on CTV programs from 1999 to 2008 — was openly shilling for the Conservatives on air.

In 2009, Duffy’s former show, “Mike Duffy Live Prime Time,” was rebuked by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council for the way it presented the infamous Stephane Dion interview with CTV Atlantic. CTV was forced to publicly air the CBSC decision.

As of this writing, CTV management had not responded to an email requesting comment on Friday’s broadcast.

In 2012, Martin reportedly told off Harper’s former director of communications Dmitri Soudas at an Ottawa party and then didn’t appear on his show the next day.

Duffy was removed from the Conservative caucus after it was revealed the Wright gave him $90,000 to pay back his improper housing expenses. Further expense claims of Duffy’s have since become under scrutiny. The situation has been forwarded to the RCMP to review.

It was CTV reporter Robert Fife, a former co-worker of Duffy’s, that broke the expenses story.

Full Disclosure: This reporter worked at CTV in a period overlapping with both Martin and Duffy, but never had any direct contact with either journalist. Martin was a columnist with the National Post prior to joining CTV.