EXCLUSIVE: The tweet ABC executive Jo Puccini doesn’t want you to see as former commando Heston Russell sues national broadcaster over ‘shoddy war crimes’ reporting

A top ABC executive has quietly deleted her Twitter account after a gruelling cross examination in defamation proceedings brought by former commando Heston Russell.

ABC’s head of Investigations and Current Affairs, Jo Puccini, endured a tough cross examination by defamation silk Sue Chrysanthou SC in the Federal Court on Friday over her oversight of the reporting on alleged war crimes by investigative journalists Mark Willacy and Josh Robertson.

Heston Russell is suing the ABC and the two investigative journalists for defamation over stories published in 2020 and 2021 he claims made it look like he was being investigated for shooting an unarmed prisoner.

Ms Chrysanthou zeroed in on a tweet in which Puccini allegedly took a swipe at 2GB, a Sydney radio station in November 2021. 

High-profile 2GB presenter Ben Fordham had criticised Willacy’s reporting of the account of a US Marine who only ‘deduced’ but did not actually witness a murder by Australian soldiers of a hogtied Afghani prisoner in Afghanistan in 2012.

Puccini’s Twitter account appeared to vanish over the weekend. 

In November 2022 Justice Michael Lee ruled that the ABC’s reporting conveyed a series of defamatory meanings including that Russell as commander of the November platoon was involved in the shooting and killing of an Afghan prisoner.

The ABC is seeking to rely on a new public interest defence that was introduced in July 2021 in NSW and is being tested for the first time in this case. 

Puccini’s tweet published a link to a follow up story that alleged that the November Platoon were under a criminal investigation as a result of a rejected FOI response made by the ABC to the Department of Defence.

When confronted about the tweet during her cross examination, Puccini said: ‘And why I tweet this, I don’t know. I was obviously – I obviously made an error.’

Puccini also admitted making errors in her checking of the articles, but did not accept the ABC should have sought a reply from the members of November Platoon prior to the October Article.

Ms Chrysanthou has alleged Willacy ‘did not want to find the truth’  and engaged in a ‘shocking breach’ of ethics when he reported on allegations of war crimes he ‘failed to corroborate’

Puccini’s 19 November 2021 tweet published a link to a follow up story that alleged that the November Platoon were under a criminal investigation as a result of a rejected FOI response made by the ABC to the Department of Defence

READ MORE: THE ABC REPORTER, the 2GB producer and the special forces commando 

An ABC journalist who is being sued for alleged defamation by an Australian special forces soldier has now been accused of verbally abusing a producer for 2GB radio.

Heston Russell is suing the ABC and two of its investigative journalists over stories published in 2020 and 2021.

2GB’s Ben Fordham slammed the ABC over its stories about Mr Russell and claimed Willacy ‘phoned us off air one morning, screaming his head off about our coverage of this case’. 

2GB breakfast host Ben Fordham 

2GB senior producer James Willis 

Puccini’s appearance in the witness box quickly sparked a series of memes in the veteran community that circulated via social media and text message.

Puccini is the latest ABC staffer whose personal social media has caused problems for the broadcaster, which has disciplined several staff for posting on platforms like Twitter.

The ABC executive was the final witness in a six-day defamation trial brought by  Russell.

Earlier in the week the court heard evidence from Robertson that 2GB and Fordham had broadcast multiple stories that were critical of Willacy and the ABC’s reporting. 

Former soldier Heston Russell (pictured with his with his legal team) fought back tears in court when he took to the stand this week

A series of memes circulated on social media following Ms Puccini lacklustre performance in the witness box

Mr Willacy was the focus of many of the memes circulating on social media