Commissioner Sofronoff is now threatening to sue the ACT Chief minister unless he retracts potentially defamatory remarks about him.
It would be laughable were it not so serious. Mr Barr chose the wrong man in Sofronoff, if he was after a whitewash to sugar coat the appalling decision by Drumgold to railroad a defendant with a trumped up #metoo allegation. Sofronoff is straight as an arrow, and sharp as a pin.
You look at the littany of lies, broken lives and careers, and lawsuits this saga has brought - they can all be sourced back to the actions of one vindictive woman whose credibility has been dismantled.
As well as considering criminal action against Drumgold for his actions, a just ACT Attorney General would be looking at Higgins, Sharaz and their potential co-conspirators in the media and Labor Party for false complaint and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Of course, this won't happen. Barr will be too busy trying to save face.
A shameful episode - motivated purely by Labor politics.
==============================================================Sofronoff demands ACT Chief Minister retract “unethical” claims
Inquiry head Walter Sofronoff KC has demanded ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr retract suggestions he had breached his duties and acted unethically in releasing his report into the prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann.
Lawyers acting for Sofronoff Inquiry chairman have written to Mr Barr rejecting criticism made by the chief minister at a press conference earlier this month, following publication of Mr Sofronoff’s damning findings against ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold.
In a veiled threat to take legal action, Mr Sofronoff’s lawyers say they are writing to give Mr Barr “an opportunity to correct the harm he has caused to Mr Sofronoff’s professional reputation.”
In an extraordinary move,Mr Barr had suggested Mr Sofronoff could face chargesor a referral to the national corruption watchdog over the premature leak of his report into the handling of the trial of Mr Lehrmann,the contents of which were published by The Australian.
Mr Barr said “a reasonably straight reading” of the Inquiries Act would indicate Mr Sofronoff had breached the law by providing journalists with copies of the report prior to its release by the government.
“We will consider our position in relation to that,” the Chief Minister said.
Mr Barr also said he found Mr Sofronoff’s engagement with journalists during the Inquiry was “concerning.”
“Mr Barr was wrong to say that Mr Sofronoff had contravened the Act and to impute that he had behaved in bad faith,” Mr Sofronoff’s lawyers said in the letter dated 17 August, released on Thursday.
Mr Sofronoff’s lawyers said it was clear there had been no breach of the Inquiries Act, which expressly permits the board to “do whatever it considers necessary or convenient for the fair and prompt conduct of the inquiry.”
They pointed out that Mr Sofronoff had stated publicly at the hearings that he would freely engage with journalists “to ensure that they can obtain a full understanding of what the evidence means and what may be the significance and ramifications of the evidence”.
Mr Sofronoff said he had given copies of his report to two reputable senior journalists who wrote for mainstream media organisations, The Australian’s Janet Albrechtsen and the ABC’s Elizabeth Byrne, and had conversations with both of them during the inquiry.
Neither of them ever breached his confidence during that time, he said.
“There was not the slightest reason to suppose that either of them would break their word about the serious matter of an embargo; and nobody has said that either of them have done so”, he said.
The Australian did not breach an embargo and will not reveal the source of the leak.
Mr Sofronoff also revealed he had provided a copy of the report to Brittany Higgins’ lawyer, Leon Zwier, so she could be reassured there was nothing adverse to her in his findings.
Mr Sofronoff had not acceded to the many requests for a public response to Mr Barr’s criticism, the lawyers said, despite added criticism of him by media outlets and commentators.
Mr Sofronoff regarded himself as bound by his professional duty of good faith “not to attack a person who, in practical terms, was akin to a client”. However, wrong criticism of Mr Sofronoff’s conduct of the inquiry and of his judgment would merely give grounds to complain to those who have no meritorious criticism to make, the letter said.
“We invite you to consider the matters in this letter and to obtain legal advice about them. We would respectfully invite Mr Barr also to consider whether the best course would be to make a public statement to the effect that, having taken advice, he accepts that Mr Sofronoff neither breached the terms of the statute, nor did he act unethically and that Mr Barr is now satisfied that Mr Sofronoff performed his duties properly and fully.
“That would put an end to the matter as far as Mr Sofronoff is concerned.”
Mr Sofronoff also released the letter he wrote to the ACT government explaining why he provided journalists with copies of his findings ahead of the report’s release by the government.
Mr Sofronoff’s lawyers asked Mr Barr and ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury to release the correspondence after it became the subject of Freedom of Information requests. He also asked that his letter of 17 August be released at the same time, to give a complete explanation of his position.
“That would not only serve the public’s interest in knowing the reasons and the basis for Mr Sofronoff’s actions which have been the subject of criticism, it would also be the right and decent thing for you to do.”
He asked for a response by 12pm on Thursday but received none. As Mr Barr had not released the correspondence “within a reasonable period of time”, Mr Sofronoff was doing so himself.
In his now-released letter, Mr Sofronoff explains that he gave copies of his report to Ms Albrechtsen and Ms Byrne on embargo until the government had published it.
Mr Sofronoff said he had concluded that it was “possible to identify journalists who are ethical and who understand the importance of their role in the conduct of a public inquiry. I have not had my trust betrayed nor have I had any reason to be disappointed.”
“Ms Albrechtsen informed me by telephone that she had obtained a copy of my report from another source and that she regarded herself as being at liberty to write about its contents. I have no reason to believe that she was lying to me.”
Justice Walter Sofronoff after his swearing in as President of the Court of Appeal in Brisbane.
Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory Andrew Barr.
Shane Drumgold.
