Legal battle looms over Paul Freebody email scandal
The LNP could face a legal stoush with its suspended Cairns candidate Paul Freebody if party bosses decide to dump him over an email scandal
The Cairns Post understands Mr Freebody has engaged lawyers to defend his candidacy, forcing LNP heavyweights to cancel a meeting scheduled for today, where they were expected to decide his future.
Mr Freebody called a press conference yesterday to explain that the email at the centre of the scandal was the result of a prank.
In the email, sent to dozens of people on Thursday, Mr Freebody said he hoped Prime Minister Julia Gillard "follows the history of JFK".
The businessman has maintained he is innocent of any wrongdoing since the scandal broke, insisting he had originally written the initials "KMR" (which apparently stood for Kevin Michael Rudd) not "JFK".
Mr Freebody yesterday blamed the mix-up on a family member, who saw the unsent email on his laptop and "thought it would be funny" to switch KMR to JFK, referring to the assassinated US president, John F. Kennedy.
"Any candidate with an ounce of brains wouldn’t put JFK on an email," Mr Freebody said.
Mr Freebody spoke to the media yesterday, despite telling The Cairns Post on Sunday that he wouldn’t be able to talk about the scandal until the LNP’s investigation was over.
LNP bosses suspended his party membership on Saturday as they launched an internal inquiry into the email and "a range of matters concerning Mr Freebody’s recent conduct".
LNP State director Michael O’Dwyer said the investigation was still going and the party hoped to reach a resolution as soon as possible.
Mr Freebody said the male family member tried to cover up the apparent prank, but the pressure of the subsequent investigation forced him to reveal his actions.
"It was an attempt to be humorous, nothing more," Mr Freebody said.
"There was no malice whatsoever meant and the person involved wants to make it known that he intended no offence to the Prime Minister."
But the explanation contradicts what Mr Freebody told media last week – that he had sent the email with the initials "KMR" and it had later been doctored to "JFK".
He even sent a copy of what he claimed was the original email to reporters on Friday, to show that he had sent the KMR version.
If one of Freebody's kids had the historical intelligence to reference JFK as a victim of assassination, he would be the smartest kid to have ever graduated a Cairns school. I've got a dozen Cairns teenagers and GenY's working for me, and NONE could tell me the significance of the initials JFK. Not one.
ReplyDeleteFreebody is a pathological liar and delusional christian wackjob. The fact that he could stand before TV cameras and tell this fairy tail, and then go home to face his family shows how sick these people are.
I agree Freebody family are all true wackos these people are pure evil I will be setting up an email for people to request information about him and will make it freely available to him. We have everything you could think of on this Scum.. alittle bit like Wikileaks
ReplyDeleteWhile the LNP is at it it could also investigate whether Freedody or the 'same male family member' has a connection with the bullying Facebook site "Val Schier is a crap Mayor'
ReplyDeleteThe site was posted on Facebook while the Freebody's WaterPark application was waddling through Council's application process and meeting some resistance.
Furthermore, the LNP needs to query Freebody on his doubious actions in relation to the sale of his Resevoir Rd Carwash business. It is better for this matter to be investigated now as opposed to allegations been made during the election campaign proper that could cost the LNP the chance of winning the seat.