Senator Mike Duffy, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, has been cleared of the 31 fraud, breach of trust and bribery charges he’d facing in the expense scandal.

Ontario Court Justice Charles Vaillancourt’s 308-page decision amounts to a vindication for the 69-year-old Duffy and an indictment of the tactics of the Prime Minister’s Office under Stephen Harper.

The bribery charge stemmed from the prime minister’s then chief of staff Nigel Wright to personally pay the $90,000 in living expenses Duffy claimed by declaring his long-time home in an Ottawa suburb was actually a secondary residence.

The remaining 30 fraud and breach of trust charges relate to Senate money the Crown alleged he either received for trips that had nothing to do with Senate business or that Duffy funnelled through a friend’s company to cover costs the Senate would not pick up.