Cunneen’s line about the “fake” chest pains unravelling fast … Slices of phone intercepts leaked to the media contradict NSW senior crown prosecutor … Attempt to delay Sophia Tilley’s blood test after car accident … Desperate calls to block the release of the tapes … Levine’s report and News Corp campaign looking dreadfully unwell … The story that keeps on giving 

The Australian Crime Commission gave ICAC phone intercepts of Cunneen’s conversations with a smash repairer George Kharadjian. The conversations concerned the car crash involving Sophia Tilley, her son’s girlfriend. 

ICAC started to investigate the circumstances of Cunneen’s suggestion that Sophia fake chest pains so as to avoid a breath test. 

This was strenuously denied by Cunneen and the investigation was closed down after findings that limited ICAC’s jurisdiction by the Court of Appeal and High Court.  

Later Cunneen came up with the story that the conversation with Kharadjian had been a joke. She was really talking about Sophia’s “fake chest” i.e. her breast implants. 

George played along with the story: 

“I’ve known Margaret for years just through the area. We drink at the same pub … When I first met Sophia, she was in the pub and Margaret and I were just having a laugh about her fake boobs.” 

This was dutifully swallowed by News Corp hacks and 2GB shock jocks. It was an hilarious play on words. 

The ACC didn’t think so, nor did ICAC, and today The Sydney Morning Herald published leaked portions of the tape, which show us why these agencies couldn’t see the joke: 

The SMH’s state political reporter Sean Nicholls had the scoop. This was Cunneen to Kharadjian, in quotes: 

“My only reservation, just between you and me, is that, that naughty girl had alcohol, had, had, oh no that’s all right I can cover that … 

But she had drunk, she’s on her P plates. But it had been some time ago which is why I sent her a message to start having chest pains and get the ambulance because it’s bought her a few more hours. Just hoping it goes down to zero cause otherwise there might be complicated insurance issues.” 

Nicholls spoke to multiple sources who also confirmed that the time and content of the conversations contradict Cunneen’s assertion that she was joking about fake chest pains. 

The Ford Mondeo driven by Sophia was leased to Cunneen from the NSW state car fleet for private use. 

In April last year Cunneen told 2GB’s Ray Hadley in a soft-ball interview she “never spoke on the phone about this matter on that night at all” – nonetheless there seemed to be plenty of texting going on. 

Chris Merritt, never the sharpest tool in the shed, swung into action at The Australian, declaring today that it would be an “extremely nasty precedent” if the parliamentary committee released the evidence about Cunneen.  

Further, Merritt says commissioner Latham is trying to “hijack” the committee’s public hearings and that the leak may be a contempt of parliament. 

If that’s not enough, Merritt, with Sharri Markson riding shotgun, also interred upper house Christian MP Fred Nile to say that he thought Cunneen was joking on the tape.  

Stablemate The Daily Telegraph seems to be backing the SMH’s version.  

Cunneen also strenuously opposes the release of the tapes or their transcripts, on the ground the High Court has ruled ICAC has no jurisdiction to investigate her. 

The release of the intercepts would clear-up a lot of unanswered questions about Cunneen, ICAC, Inspector David Levine and the whole News Corp campaign – 203 ICAC articles last year in The Australian, totalling 124,000 words, 86 stories saying ICAC was out of control and 21 insisting premier Baird must act on ICAC.  

What Sean Nicholls has revealed in the Herald shows Cunneen’s version of events is crumbling fast. 

Apart from the fake chest pains story we know of other occasions when Cunneen has met herself coming around corners:

“It is indeed amazing that these people don’t realise that my dear Sophia doesn’t drink (her blood test was 0.00) and the crash was so bad that the car was written off. Isn’t it good that all the independent bystanders said I did absolutely nothing wrong?” 

“What a malevent [sic] person my long-estranged sister is to take the bare bones of the terrible crash that my father told her about and do this to me.” 

David Levine’s overwrought report into Operation Hale is looking even more shabby than when Justinian first examined it’s shortcomings.   

Don’t expect Damien Tudehope, the legislative council’s ICAC committee chairman and another far right fundamentalist Christian, to support the release of the intercepts and transcripts. He’s shown plenty of signs of being a paid-up crusader against ICAC and Megan Latham.  

Tudehope was chief-of-staff to former attorney general Greg Smith, who appointed Cunneen to chair the inquiry into clergy abuse in Newcastle-Maitland. Needless to say, the coppers came out smelling like roses.