The trial of David McBride

[lionking]

This is very interesting at a number of levels and with very high stakes. He will be the first Australian to be tried as a result of the Afghanistan War and preliminary court proceedings have commenced in Canberra.

A bit of background on McBride. He is a former British Army major and Australian Army lawyer. He provided information to the national broadcaster, the ABC detailing war crimes by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan. The allegations were investigated and Major Brereton found the allegations “credible”, but no legal action has yet been commenced against the suspected war criminals. Instead, the government has gone after the whistle blower. He faces 50 years in prison.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_McBride_(whistleblower)

In September 2018, McBride was charged with the theft of Commonwealth property contrary to s 131(1) of the Criminal Code Act 1995; in March 2019 he was charged with a further four offences: three of breaching s 73A(1) of the Defence Act 1903; and another of "unlawfully disclosing a Commonwealth document contrary to s 70(1) of the Crimes Act 1914".[11][12][13][14][15] McBride pleaded not guilty to each of the charges at a 30 May 2019 preliminary hearing and is awaiting trial.[11][16] His legal team includes Nick Xenophon and Mark Davis.[2][17]

There is no dispute that he provided the classified information, but I have seen no evidence or even commentary that serving officers were put at risk.

Nuremberg has already been invoked:

The barrister acting for defence whistleblower David McBride has told a judge that merely obeying orders “ignores Nuremberg” in arguing his client was duty-bound to leak confidential material relating to war crimes investigations to the media.

There is already conjecture that “Jury Nullification” could occur, which as far as I can tell has never been confirmed to have happened in Australia.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/...g-whistleblower-s-lawyer-20231114-p5ejrs.html

There are many things that do not sit well with me, most notably that disgraced Victoria Cross recipient Ben Robert’s-Smith has not yet been charged, and may not be. In a defamation trial brought by Robert’s-Smith, the judge found he killed four Afghan non-combatants.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Roberts-Smith

So a big trial by Australian standards and I will post updates as it proceeds.

 

[lionking]

Well the court has decided to reject McBride’s public interest defence.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11...mcbride-trial-leaked-adf-war-crimes/103119808

He is forced to plead guilty, but as his lawyer said.

Outside court, defence lawyer Mark Davis foreshadowed a possible appeal.

He noted the judge's decisions meant important trial evidence would have been heard in secret, away from the jurors, dealing McBride's defence "a fatal blow".

"That limits what we can say to the jury on his behalf, in terms of his duty as an officer and the oath he took to serve the interests of the Australian public," Mr Davis said.

"Well, the ruling was he doesn't have a duty to serve the interests of the Australian people; he has a duty to follow orders.

There is a long way to go here.

 

[lionking]

Wow, did I get this wrong!

I probably should let this thread die, but I can’t let this go now.

I was taken in by his supporters and a misleading Wikipedia page, and need to thank ABC’s 4Corners for the facts.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-25/david-mcbride-afghan-files-dan-oakes-four-corners/103542714

Initially it was reported that McBride sent information to an ABC reporter, which led to the “Afghan Files” TV show, which then led to the investigation of the SAS and the finding that Victoria Cross winner Ben Roberts-Smith murdered Afghan prisoners.

What wasn’t reported (or I missed it) was that Mc Bride’s motives were to justify the (proven unjustified) behaviour of the SAS. He was, intentionally or not, covering up the actions of the SAS. When the reporter looked into what was leaked and realised the truth, he broke the story.

The reporter did not disclose his source, but the police were on McBride’s trail, and he took off to Spain for 12 months! On his return he was arrested, bailed and took on the mantle of a whistleblower who disclosed war crimes. Which was an outrageous lie.

He will go to jail, and his leaking of secret information was not in the public interest. It was to find excuses for war criminals. He has failed in his duty and deserves what is coming.

 

[lionking]

To my mea culpa above, McBride has been justly sentenced to 5 years. Good riddance.

 

[lionking]

Bumping due to McBride’s appeal being dismissed and he will soon land in jail.