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Walsh doesn’t think that the RCMP is properly interpreting the criminal code, since as a senator, Duffy is a parliamentarian, and not an official of the government, but it appears the RCMP has received different advice.

The Toronto Star reported this week that the RCMP have been consulting with a provincial Crown attorney in the Ottawa courthouse on legal matters, but neither the Ottawa office nor the attorney general’s office would confirm that Monday.

The act requires that “head of the branch of government” must be informed in writing of any payment, but Walsh said a defence lawyer should be able to prove reasonable doubt for Wright even if the prime minister was informed verbally.

“Can you imagine someone being convicted under 121 in the face of evidence that the prime minister was aware?” he said. “I just don’t think it can happen.”

Last week, the Law Society of British Columbia said that it may look into the conduct of Benjamin Perrin, the PMO lawyer who, according to court documents, negotiated with Duffy’s lawyer.

The documents also state that Arthur Hamilton, counsel for the Conservative Party, was also aware of the deal.

If those lawyers didn’t tell the prime minister what was going on, Walsh says, they may face trouble with their professional associations, because if you are the lawyer for an organization, you have a responsibility to make sure that the head of that organization knows

“What’s the duty of the lawyer?,” he said. “The first question a lawyer has to ask himself with a question like that, is who is the client? If Wright were later convicted, the question is, was Wright the client, or was not he just the instructing officer for the organization? I would think it would be the latter. In which case, the head of the organization, Harper, would be the one that these lawyers would need to inform about the activities of the subordinate, Wright.”