Poltics
David McBride’s ardent supporters on the left may well need to replicate on his motivations for releasing information to journalists about war crimes in Afghanistan following his appearance on factual-flit conspiracy theorist “radio” station TNT.
As Crikey has beforehand reported, TNT, a Gold Coast-based broadcaster catering to conspiracists, peddles climate denialism, vaccine fearmongering and pro-Russian propaganda. McBride has stuffed in as a host for Dean Mackin, a candidate for Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party who was sacked by Newcastle station 2HD in 2019 for his unbalanced views. McBride interviewed Greens NSW Senator David Shoebridge about AUKUS whereas web hosting on TNT last year (a spokesperson for Shoebridge told Crikey “politics is too important to narrowcast, Senator Shoebridge even goes on Sky”).
On February 7, McBride appeared on TNT as a guest of Mackin’s to discuss Ben Roberts-Smith’s appeal against his defamation judgment. Earlier than McBride appearing, Mackin dwelt at length on what he insisted was a migrant crime concern in Australia and the UK, claimed freedom of speech had vanished in Ireland, and played an ad with a voiceover that said: “If you’re serene wearing a fabric or surgical mask around in public, you’re guilty of spreading COVID misinformation, it’s that easy.” Mackin then interviewed Craig Kelly, at that stage of the Palmer party, saying Kelly was “literally saving this country in every way shape or form”. Less than three weeks later, Kelly had abandoned the Palmer party for Pauline Hanson — his second defection in three years.
Becoming a member of Mackin after Kelly, McBride, presumably aware of the content that had preceded him, told his host that he felt some “possession” of the program, before discussing the Roberts-Smith case. If Mackin was hoping McBride would share his host’s enthusiasm for Roberts-Smith, he would have been disappointed. McBride illustrious that TNT listeners have been seemingly sympathetic to the war criminal, and explained a few of the aspects of the appeal case, but identified that the evidence against Roberts-Smith came from fellow troopers, no longer Afghans or journalists, and it had been examined under inferior-examination. Furthermore, McBride identified, the trial resolve had discovered Roberts-Smith had been concerned about several killings, no longer actual one, and an error within the conclusion about one didn’t negate the findings within the others.
Nonetheless McBride then noticed, “He won’t be going to jail. Nor carry out I feel he may serene, within the sense there’s absolutely nothing to be gained by placing our former troopers in jail.”
At this time, there are no criminal charges in relation to Ben Roberts-Smith, so the appropriateness or otherwise of his being jailed is meaningless. Nonetheless McBride’s statement that there is absolutely nothing to be gained from placing former troopers in jail is extraordinary, suggesting that troopers be exempted from war crimes and crimes against humanity legislation, eliminating any get pleasure from such legislation.
Lionised by many on the left, and championed as a persecuted whistleblower by mighty of the media — in conjunction with Crikey, the readers of which voted him Person of the Year in 2023 — McBride has loved relatively little scrutiny of the circumstances in which he leaked to the media confidential material relating to war crimes in Afghanistan.
McBride’s lawyer last November admitted to the ABC that “his initial complaint, the thing that angered him most, was what he thought was inappropriate charging of troopers for war crimes, that these have been trivial incidents. And all at once he’s being ridden very heavily to prosecute folks. And he says, ‘Effectively, they haven’t done anything.’ So … absolutely it was in defence of Australian troopers that he kicked off his actions.”
In his interview with prosecutors that the Crown submitted at his trial, McBride complained about the consume made of the material by ABC journalists to explain war crimes — the resulting file was, in his words, “the reverse of what I believed”.
McBride’s lawyers are now engaged in attacks on the ABC and journalist Dan Oakes, saying “the ABC abandoned the availability of their greatest story that year because he was a bit shocking to their journalist”, that Oakes and the ABC breached confidence (an extraordinary allegation to make against any reputable journalist), refused to assist McBride, and that Oakes behaved in an “unfair and despicable” manner.
McBride responded to Crikey’s private questions about the statement on TNT with a long public attack against me, but failed to address whether he stood by the feedback, or our invitation to expand his reasoning.
Crikey’s question to McBride:
Hi David — FYI I have despatched the following questions to your legal team. I’m doing a allotment on your appearances on TNT: On 7 February you spoke to Dean Mackin about Ben Roberts-Smith’s appeal. As I’ll existing, you gave the impression at pains to distance yourself from the enthusiasm of the TNT audience for BRS and identified the evidence against him came from assorted troopers. Nonetheless, you also said the following about the opportunity of BRS being jailed: ‘Yeah yeah, he won’t be going to jail. Nor carry out I feel he may serene, within the sense there’s absolutely nothing to be gained by placing our former troopers in jail.’ Inserting aside the case of BRS, which as you existing is purely a civil matter at this stage, carry out you stand by the be aware that there’s nothing to be gained from jailing troopers who have committed war crimes? Can you expand on that be aware? What’s the deterrent for crimes against humanity if no one is at risk of being jailed for them? Thanks B
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