Alleged war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith is digging a massive hole for himself trying to avoid criminal charges for alleged war crimes by running a blocking manoeuvre by suing for defamation hoping that will stifle any criminal charges being laid.
The latest reports have Mr Roberts-Smith wife giving evidence in the defamation matter via an affidavit that Mr Roberts-Smith asked her to lie and say they were separated when he had an affair with a lawyer who he allegedly punched in the face after a function at parliament house.
To make matters worse Ben Roberts-Smith’s lawyers and/or PR people leaked the documents to the media but blacked out the part where his wife said she was asked to lie. On Monday (2/11/20) lawyers for The SMH and The Age were in court and complained. Not long after the SMH published an article and said:
Mr Roberts-Smith is currently suing Nine Entertainment papers The SMH and The Age “over reports he allegedly committed murder on deployments to Afghanistan and that he punched his mistress in the face in Canberra.”
He denies the allegations and says the reports are defamatory because they portray him as a criminal.
The news outlets are defending the claim on a truth defence. The defamation trial is to start next year.
Ben Roberts-Smith asked his wife to lie about an affair he had with another woman, a court has heard, amid revelations the former Australian soldier heavily redacted information from documents sent to news outlets as part of a defamation case.
On Monday the Federal Court was told that without its permission Mr Roberts-Smith redacted information from documents before they were sent to the news outlets as part of the defamation case.
Barrister Lyndelle Barnett, appearing for the news outlets, told the court on Monday the information in the affidavits raised questions about the credibility of Mr and Ms Roberts-Smith, which could be an issue at trial. Ms Roberts-Smith is expected to be called as a witness for her husband.
Bruce McClintock, SC, appearing for Mr Roberts-Smith, said the material was redacted from the documents because it was “deeply personal” and irrelevant to the allegations at the centre of the defamation trial.
But Ms Barnett said a party didn’t have the right to redact information without a court’s permission. (Click here to read more)
Earlier in the day on Monday, before they went to court, journalist Nick McKenzie, who is also being sued by Ben Roberts-Smith in the same defamation matter, Tweeted the below Tweet.
For Ben Roberts-Smith to be relying on his former wife as a key witness when she has written an affidavit saying he asked her to lie says that Ben Roberts-Smith is desperate as his wife evidence will do damage to both their credibility. One can only assume that there is something in his former wife’s evidence that will override the negative parts of her evidence.
But when they sent the evidence to the media and blacked out the key part about asking his wife to lie it made a bad situation a thousand times worse. From what I understand Mr Roberts-Smith and his wife are separated as the media have been reporting he is dating his current lawyer which could make it dangerous putting his wife in the witness stand. (Click here to read more)
I sent Kerry Stokes and his lawyers the below questions as Ben Roberts-Smith is General Manager of Seven Queensland which is part of the Kerry Stokes controlled Seven West Media and Kerry Stokes is financing Mr Roberts-Smith legal and PR costs to try and stay out of jail.
From: SHANE DOWLING
Sent: 03 November 2020 11:37
To: kstokes@seven.com.au; rstokes@seven.com.au; bmcwilliam@seven.com.au; mark.obrien@markobrienlegal.com.au; monica.allen@markobrienlegal.com.au; JWarburton@seven.com.au
Cc: Richard Keegan <richard.keegan@addisons.com>; justine.munsie@addisons.com; Martin O’Connor <Martin.OConnor@addisons.com>; smark@smark.com.au; sandy.dawson@banco.net.au; Monique Cowden <mcowden@level22.com.au>
Subject: Media questions for KCA
Dear Mr Kerry Stokes
I am writing an article with the working title “Seven West Media executive and alleged war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith caught lying and deceiving the public in defamation case” and I have a few questions.
- Can you confirm that it was you Mr Stokes that instructed Ben Roberts-Smith’s legal team and/or PR team to leak legal documents for his defamation case to the media?
- Can you also confirm that you Mr Stokes instructed the people leaking the legal documents to redact (black out) certain information that was not redacted by the court?
- Was one of the pieces of information that was redacted (blacked out) a statement by Ben Roberts-Smith’s wife that Mr Roberts-Smith asked his wife to lie about being separated when he was having an adulterous affair and allegedly punched his mistress in the head at parliament house?
- I have asked this question before and I’ll ask it again as you never answered previously: Can you confirm that Seven West Media or one of your associated companies is paying Ben Roberts-Smith’s legal and PR fees?
- Can you confirm that the main purpose of Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation case is to help Mr Roberts-Smith avoid criminal charges for war crimes?
- Are you Mr Stokes and the other Seven West Media directors aware that trying to conceal a serious indictable offence is a criminal offence punishable by up to 5 years jail? (As per the NSW CRIMES ACT 1900 – SECT 316)
Please respond by 5pm today so I can publish.
Regards
Shane Dowling
Kerry Stokes and his lawyers haven’t responded but given they didn’t respond to questions I emailed them on this same matter a few weeks ago (Click here to see) it’s no surprise. Previously Stokes’ lawyer would always respond so they must have a lot to hide in this matter.
The embarrassment of the above and the damage that it has and will do to Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation case against The SMH and The Age comes on top of the story that was exposed a couple of weeks ago of the secret meetings with former AFP commissioner Mick Keelty. I published an article on the 3rd of October titled “Did Billionaire Kerry Stokes bribe AFP police with the help of former Commissioner Mick Keelty?” and said:
There is a powerful prima facie case that billionaire Kerry Stokes bribed AFP police with the assistance of former AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty to help Ben Robert-Smith fight murder and war crime allegations and Kerry Stokes is not denying it as the below email shows.
The fact that Mick Keelty illegally aided and abetted Ben Robert’s-Smith to obtain police information is not beyond doubt as Mick Keelty has publicly admitted as much.
Mick Keelty’s involvement was 2 secret meetings with Ben Roberts-Smith in June 2018, which only come to light recently, to tip him off about the AFP investigation. Ben Roberts-Smith is now facing possible criminal charges for war crimes and is also involved in a defamation battle which he instituted against the media.
On the 7th of May 2020, it was reported that the AFP had passed on a brief of evidence to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions to have Ben Roberts-Smith charged with murder and war crimes. Then on the 18th of May, it was reported that the “Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions has appointed top Sydney barrister David McLure SC to lead efforts to prosecute decorated Afghan veteran Ben Roberts-Smith for alleged war crimes.” (Click here to read more)
There is not an ounce of doubt in my mind that Kerry Stokes was personally involved in the leaking of the documents to the media and also involved in the Mick Keelty meetings somehow. I base my opinion on the 6 years that Kerry Stokes has had legal proceedings against me and evidence by his own lawyer that Kerry Stokes has been very hands-on in the court cases.
Just as Kerry Stokes has used defamation proceedings against me to hide his criminal and corrupt conduct Ben Roberts-Smith is trying the same tactic and is using the defamation matter in an attempt to avoid criminal charges for murder and war crimes. His strategy would be to try and discredit the evidence against him during the defamation matter to make it hard for the authorities to charge him for the alleged crimes, but it is a strategy that is backfiring badly.
I think it is likely that Ben Roberts-Smith will be charged for war crimes before June 2021 which is when the defamation matter is due to start. If that happens the defamation matter will be stayed until the criminal charges are finalised as it is standard practice that if there are criminal and civil matters dealing with the same issues then the criminal matters are dealt with first.
Declaration: Kerry Stokes and his lawyers are mentioned many times in the first 5 chapters of my new book, Australia’s Paedophile Protection Racket, as those chapters deal with Kerry Stokes’ various court cases against me which sets up the background for the rest of the book. (Click here to read more)
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Categories: Kerry Stokes, Nine Entertainment
This is the type of man held up as ‘hero’? Exemplary? Worthy of award?
His life is a lie.
These men are soldiers who where given conflicting orders. Really the whole problem of Afghanistan war crimes can be solved by nailing the perpetrator, one John Winston Howard.
The whole idea of war crimes is a bit of a straw man argument, as eluded to by you. I’d agree and argue that war itself is the crime? A nation has a right to defend itself, but wars of aggression, I think, are a different matter entirely. Australia has been engaging in wars of aggression for quite some time.