There could be myriad reasons for Christian Porter dropping his defamation case against the ABC, none of which appear to vindicate the former attorney-general.
The trial of the century won’t be happening. Christian Porter has dropped his defamation case against the ABC — or “settled” as The Australian termed it — for no apology, no damages but a contribution by the ABC to his rapidly spiraling legal bills (although according to the ABC, it only agreed to cover Porter’s mediation costs).
What caused this sudden and spectacular retreat? You can take your pick from three possibilities: Porter looking down the barrel at long, extremely expensive litigation with the risk of utterly destroying his reputation; the imminence (on Tuesday) of Porter’s attempt to strike out the most enticing parts of the ABC’s defence, with the attendant risk of their becoming public very soon; or the loss last week of Porter’s preferred senior counsel, Sue Chrysanthou SC, removed from the case by the Federal Court because of a conflict of interest.
My guess is all three. For the ABC, while its lawyers (all lawyers, actually) would have been relishing the prospect of defending its story about the rape allegation against Porter, particularly the tasty constitutional implied freedom argument Justin Gleeson had cooked up for it, litigation isn’t its core business. Like any sensible media organisation, it will always be looking for the closest exit from the courthouse.
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