A former ally of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper goes on trial for fraud and bribery on Tuesday in a case that could damage the governing Conservatives’ chances of winning October’s general election. Mike Duffy, a former television reporter who became a popular fund-raiser for the Conservatives, faces 31 criminal charges related to activities after Harper appointed him to the Senate, the upper chamber of Parliament. The party that talked about cleaning up politics looked less than transparent when it emerged in May 2013 that Harper chief of staff Nigel Wright had given Duffy a $72,000 check to cover living expenses the senator had claimed improperly. Harper later said he had, in fact, fired Wright.

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