While we likely won’t be tuning into Maury to find out who the real father is, that doesn’t make this paternity accusation any less scandalous. Karen Duffy, the daughter of a “convicted drug mule who served time in Kingston, Ont.’s Prison for Women and then an Ottawa halfway house” claims that the already scandal-ridden Senator Mike Duffy is her father.
Almost anticipating that no one would believe that a Senator (albeit a suspended and disgraced one) slept with a convicted felon awaiting deportation while being one of the country’s most famous television-journalists, Karen has made clear that she doesn’t want a dime. All her life she “wondered why [her] father wasn’t with [her],” and now she’s gone to Maclean’s in the hope of re-connecting with her long lost dad.
He looks like the type of guy who would do something like this.
Ayelie
Mike Duffy deserves some credit for severely upping the ante on the type of misconduct he’s dabbled in. To go from allegedly claiming living expenses for a property not his primary residence to impregnating a convicted drug trafficker in a halfway house is a pretty big leap in terms of general misconduct. Who knows, maybe he imports illegal weapons or has a stuffed effigy of Nigel Wright in his bedroom. When you’re a conservative like Duffy, it’s important to only participate in the most, well, liberal activities.
#duffchild I started my life in an old Cold run down PEI home My father left, he never even claimed me as an expense…
— Andrew Coyne (@acoyne) July 15, 2014
The woman in question, Yvettte Benites, flew to Canada with her lover, but he planted cocaine in her bag. She was sentenced to 8 years in a Kingston prison, but got fast tracked to an Ottawa halfway house given her willingness to be deported. She then met Moira Duffy, Mike’s sister, who introduced the unwitting drug mule to Mike, then a TV-journalist. It was a match made in heaven: he picked her up in his Mercedes, and they went to fancy restaurants. She has a hand-written letter from him wishing her luck on her deportation hearing, signed Mike. Luck was not enough, and Yvette was deported back to Peru, and never heard from Duffy again, despite countless attempts to contact him.
So, what does the #duffchild want? Well, she’s suing him in a Peruvian court, and if victorious wants him to formally acknowledge her, unless he can prove via DNA test that he’s not actually the baby-daddy. But, that puts Duffy in a tight spot, and not of the half-way house variety. If he takes the paternity test, and she is his daughter, the world will know. But if he admits it, we get the same result. Likely, he’s counting on just ignoring the Peruvian decision. For a judgement like that from a faraway country, Mike probably just hopes that it will go away like that nice Peruvian lady from so many decades ago.
Most importantly, Karen operates an athletic apparel business and is married to a man who is the part-owner of a zinc mine. As long as she’s not looking for money from him, she has a shot at being recognized. As for Duffy, it’s not like it would be more damaging to his career than his work in the Senate. The real shame is that Nigel Wright’s not around anymore, so Duffy has no one to pay for the hush money. To weasel his was out of this scandal, Duffy will need to reach into his own pockets, and not his pants.