POLICE COMMISSIONER GRAHAM ASHTON

1 February 2018

Mr Mark Galliott

Deputy Chief of Staff to Commissioner Graham Ashton AM

Dear Sir

REFERENCE: D18/050386

Thank you for your reply on behalf of Commissioner Ashton to my letter of 4 December 2017.

The second paragraph of your letter is factually incorrect where you state: “The matters outlined in your letter have already been subject to protracted consideration within the civil jurisdiction.”

To my knowledge, there has only been one case (and an appeal to the full bench). Justice James Middleton of the Federal Court heard the case on 11, 12, 13 August 2014.

ISSUES CONSIDERED AND DECIDED UPON IN THE FEDERAL COURT BY JUSTICE JAMES MIDDLETON

1. In those proceedings (which were heard together), the Essendon Football Club and Mr James Hird alleged that the AFL and ASADA had no power to conduct the joint investigation in the way it was conducted (involving the use by ASADA of AFL “compulsory powers”), and that ASADA breached its confidentiality obligations during the course of the investigation and in the provision to the AFL of an interim report.
   
   
2. The AFL was not a party to those proceedings. No relief was sought against the AFL. Neither the Commission of the AFL nor any agent or employee of the AFL gave evidence at that proceeding.
   
   
3. It is important to recall that the case before Justice Middleton did not involve a broad and general inquiry (outside the pleaded case) as to the general conduct of the investigation, nor the day-to-day activities of ASADA Chief Executive Ms Andruska or her investigators during the course of the investigation.
   
   
4. For the purposes of that proceeding, there was no need to consider or comment on the propriety or otherwise of the intervention by the then Federal government during the course of the investigation.
   
   
5. Justice Middleton was asked to adjudicate upon the correct characterisation of the events which occurred, and the purpose and nature of the investigation by ASADA with the cooperation of the AFL.

Justice Middleton was not asked to consider or decide whether:

1. The AFL conspired with ASADA, the Essendon board (represented by Chairman David Evans and Chief Executive Ian Robson) and the Federal government, on 9 February 2013 to fix the result of the investigation before the first witness was interviewed.
   
   (A POSSIBLE CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY)
   
   
2. The Essendon board endorsed the agreement reached by the AFL, ASADA and the Gillard government.
   
   (A POSSIBLE CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY)
   
   
3. The action of AFL Chief Executive Andrew Demetriou continually implying in the media that Essendon and Hird were guilty.
   
   (A POSSIBLE BREACH OF THEIR RIGHT TO PROCEDURAL FAIRNESS)
   
   
4. The AFL briefed the proposed jury (the AFL Commissioners) on the evidence before the investigation was completed.
   
   (A POSSIBLE SUBORNING OF DECISION MAKERS AND INTERFERING WITH THE PROCESS OF JUSTICE)
   
   
5. The AFL informed the jury before the investigation was completed that the Essendon Football Club, James Hird, Danny Corcoran and Mark Thompson were guilty.
   
   (A POSSIBLE SUBORNING OF DECISION MAKERS, INTERFERING WITH THE PROCESS OF JUSTICE AND PERVERTING THE COURSE OF JUSTICE)
   
   
6. The AFL informed the jury before the investigation was completed what some of the penalties would be.
   
   (A POSSIBLE PERVERTING THE COURSE OF JUSTICE)
   
   
7. The AFL bullied and blackmailed the Essendon Football Club, James Hird, Danny Corcoran and Mark Thompson to accept the penalties before charges were laid.
   
   (A POSSIBLE CRIMINAL DURESS TO PERVERT THE COURSE OF JUSTICE)
   
   
8. The Essendon board agreed to the fraud in order to mitigate the threat of more severe penalties.
   
   (A POSSIBLE CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY)
   
   
9. ASADA changed evidence; omitted evidence; and fabricated evidence to help the AFL create a case against Essendon, Hird, Corcoran and Thompson.
   
   (A POSSIBLE PERVERTING THE COURSE OF JUSTICE AND PERJURY)
   
   
10. The AFL denied Hird procedural fairness by wanting him stood aside as coach before he was even interviewed.
    
    (A POSSIBLE INTERFERING IN THE COURSE OF JUSTICE)
    
    
11. At the AFL’s behest, on 25 June 2013, David Evans asked James Hird if he would agree to be suspended and Essendon be banned from playing in the finals-series.
    
    (A POSSIBLE INTERFERING IN THE COURSE OF JUSTICE)
    
    
12. On separate occasions, deputy AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan (26 June 2013) and Andrew Demetriou (24 July 2013) asked Ms Andruska to omit information from the interim report. Those omissions may have contributed to the AFL being able to defraud Essendon of $2 million.
    
    (A POSSIBLE INTERFERING IN THE COURSE OF JUSTICE AND CONSPIRACY TO PERVERT THE COURSE OF JUSTICE)
    
    
13. The AFL asked ASADA to include things in the interim report in order to prove guilt. This contributed to the AFL defrauding Essendon of $2 million.
    
    (A POSSIBLE CONSPIRACY AND PERJURY)
    
    
14. ASADA chief investigator John Nolan tried to doctor the injection figures on 15 July 2013, in order to build the case against Essendon.
    
    (A POSSIBLE ATTEMPTED FORGERY AND CONSPIRACY)
    

Justice Middleton was not asked to adjudicate on any of the matters that I have outlined above and he did not do so. 

To my knowledge, there has never been an investigation into these matters that I raise.

These matters alleged are of a criminal nature and should have been properly investigated but were not because of what appears to be a “rush to judgement” and a “preconceived outcome”.

It is disgraceful that lives and reputations have been so egregiously ruined in such a fraudulent and unjust way.

I have spent over 12,000 hours and distributed over one million words to tens of thousands of people in seeking to bring the truth to the light of day. The evidence that I have obtained could have been obtained by honest and fair-minded investigators but it was not.

I live by myself and have virtually been homebound for ten years. Res ipsa loquitur, if necessary, I shall spend another 12,000 hours on the matter to ensure the relevant participants are brought to justice.

Everything in this whole shameful disgraceful saga speaks of conspiracy, duplicity, lies, interference with the truth in order to arrive at a preconceived outcome with the setting up of “sacrificial lambs”.

If I am right in this regard then this whole Essendon doping saga’s conduct is unbecoming of a civilised society under the rule of law.

Such conduct should be investigated thoroughly given the importance of this matter and if found to be so it should be exposed and the relevant participants be brought to justice. 

Bruce Francis