Ex-political aide David Livingston arrives for sentencing at Ontario court in Toronto on April 11, 2018.Colin Perkel/The Canadian Press
A former Liberal premier’s chief of staff who was sentenced to four months in jail for a plot to wipe government hard drives has abandoned his appeal, but it’s unclear if he has served his time.
David Livingston, who was the top political aide to former premier Dalton McGuinty, was released on bail pending appeal after his sentencing in the spring.
But when reached by phone today, his lawyer refused to say if Livingston ultimately served that sentence after dropping his appeal.
Court of Appeal documents show Livingston abandoned it in September and the court confirmed that in November.
In passing the sentence last year, the judge said Livingston had directed the indiscriminate wiping of hard drives in the premier’s office in a deliberate effort at sparing the government embarrassment over its costly decision to scrap two gas plants ahead of the 2011 provincial election.
The judge said the conduct was “an affront to and an attack upon democratic institutions and values.”