Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull support Crikey in its legal battle with Lachlan Murdoch by donating to the website’s defamation defense.
Rudd and Turnbull disapproved of Murdoch’s perceived influence.
Mr. Turnbull stated that Mr. Murdoch owns more valuable boats than the website he is suing.
Mr. Rudd has described Rupert Murdoch as a “arrogant cancer on our democracy.”
Two previous Australian prime ministers each contributed $5,000 to help the news website Crikey defend itself against a lawsuit filed by News Corporation chairman and billionaire Lachlan Murdoch.
Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull, who have both frequently blamed the Murdoch family for their political failings, have contributed to an online petition for supporting Crikey’s legal defense.
Mr. Murdoch is suing over an article that referred to him as a “co-conspirator” with Donald Trump in relation to the former president’s claim that the 2020 election was rigged and the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
When Mr. Murdoch protested about the article, Crikey dared him to sue by publishing an open letter in the New York Times, and he did so.
In a note accompanying his donation, Mr. Turnbull stated, “Lachlan Murdoch owns yachts more valuable than Crikey.”
Mr. Rudd has previously referred to Rupert Murdoch as a “arrogant cancer on our democracy” and organized a petition calling for a royal commission to investigate the influence of News Corp on Australian politics.
Kevin Rudd (left) and Malcolm Turnbull (right) both donated $5,000 to the news website Crikey, which is being sued by billionaire Lachlan Murdoch, the co-chairman of News Corp.
The June 29 Crikey post by Bernard Keane was on the US Congressional hearings into the events of January 6, when Mr. Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol buildings in Washington, D.C.
The Murdochs were only referenced in the final sentence of the article, although the title states, “Trump is a certified insane traitor.” And Murdoch is his uncharged accomplice.
This provoked a heated response from Lachlan Murdoch, whose father Rupert famously does not sue for defamation, who immediately requested that it be removed.
But on August 15, Crikey reversed course, reprinted the piece and linked social media messages, and challenged Mr. Murdoch’s Sydney-based attorney John Churchill to carry out his legal threat.
Subsequently, the Federal Court listed an application brought by Mr. Murdoch against Crikey owner Private Media, its managing editor Peter Fray, and political columnist Bernard Keane.
Crikey started a GoFundMe page on Friday in the hopes of raising $3 million to fund its defense, despite knowing that Mr. Murdoch has the financial resources to fund a protracted legal battle.
By Monday afternoon, the organization had gathered over $350,000 from over 1,300 separate donors, including Mr. Rudd and Mr. Turnbull.
In addition to his remark about Mr. Murdoch owning boats worth more than Crikey, Mr. Turnbull also criticized News Corporation and its US channel Fox News for its coverage of what he termed a “coup attempt.”
Mr. Turnbull stated that Fox’s contribution to the events and background of the January 6 attempted coup are of the highest possible public interest, and not only to Americans.
Billionaire Lachlan Murdoch is suing an Australian news website for defamation after it dared him to do so.
Lachlan Murdoch (shown on the left) is suing Australian publisher Crikey for defamation, but his father Rupert (pictured on the right) is infamously not a defamation plaintiff.
“These events shocked the world, and it must be claimed that Australians today are far more optimistic about the durability of American democracy than many, if not the majority, of Americans,” he remarked.
Mr. Turnbull’s financial involvement in this case, as well as his other forays into the political arena since he was ousted as prime minister, are inconsistent with his previous comments referring to Mr. Rudd and another former prime minister, Tony Abbott, as “miserable ghosts” for continuing to publicly engage in political matters.
In 2018, Mr. Turnbull stated, “When you cease to be prime minister, that’s it.” “In no way would I linger about like bitter Kevin Rudd or Tony Abbott. Seriously, these individuals resemble wretched, terrible ghosts.
Tony Windsor, an independent former politician, sent $1,000 to the Crikey fund, while someone identifying themselves as Donald Trump also contributed.
“Thank you for your wonderful support throughout the years, Lachlan, but I’m concerned that Crikey will target me next.”
A portion of a letter from an attorney for Lachlan Murdoch to the independent news website Crikey
Please accept this contribution in exchange for your service. Additionally, I have certain (declassified) documents that may be of interest to you,’ Mr. Trump remarked.
However, the largest donations have come from outside of politics. Two $10,000 donations have been made, one anonymous and the other from Ben Appleton.
Mr. Murdoch seeks punitive damages and an injunction to prevent Crikey from republishing the piece and its inferences.
According to Mr. Murdoch’s attorneys, the article falsely claimed he “illegally conspired with Trump to overturn the outcome of the presidential election” and “knowingly entered into a criminal conspiracy with Donald Trump and a large number of Fox News commentators to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election.”
Some of the complaints Lachlan Murdoch’s attorney filed about a Crikey piece
Mr. Fray defended Crikey’s choice to reproduce every correspondence between their lawyer at MinterEllison and Lachlan Murdoch’s representation by stating that the publication was performing a public service and championing a cause championed by the Murdochs.
In their open letter, which was published in the New York Times as an advertisement, Mr. Fray and Private Media chairman Eric Beecher stated that they were protecting journalistic freedom.
They wrote, “We fully encourage opinion freedom and public interest journalism at Crikey.” We are concerned that Australia’s libel laws are overly stringent.
Demands made by Lachlan Murdoch’s attorney regarding an article by Bernard Keane on the independent news blog Crikey.
They said that they intend to defend themselves in court against the charges.
You have made it obvious in your attorney’s correspondence that you intend to file a lawsuit to remedy this alleged defamation.
“We await your writ so that we may litigate this critical issue of the freedom of journalism in the public interest.”
If it was a bluff, Mr. Murdoch called it, and they will have their day in court.
Eric Beecher, publisher of Crikey, released an open letter daring the Murdochs to sue his website.