Moira Deeming‘s legal team has announced its intention to pursue subpoenas, compelling John Pesutto to disclose communications with his donors, as part of an effort to recover costs from third parties.

According to a letter from Deeming’s team, the donations were crucial to Pesutto’s ability to mount a defense. “Without those gifts, Mr Pesutto would not have been able to defend the proceedings or continue with his defence of the proceedings, particularly in the exhaustive manner he did. It is clear that those contributions to his defence costs caused our client to incur meaningful costs in requiring her to proceed with the claim against him all the way to judgment and in doing so, defeating each of his misconceived defences,” the letter stated.

This strategy echoes a previous case where Nine, sought costs from billionaire Kerry Stokes following a defamation victory against Ben Roberts-Smith, arguing that Australian Capital Equity and the seven Network controlled Roberts-smith’s litigation.

Supporters of Pesutto argue that the donations he received are different from those in the Roberts-Smith case.

Pesutto Acknowledges Donations

Pesutto told reporters that the donations from those named by Deeming’s solicitors were “in the scheme of things, relatively modest amounts.”

“But I gratefully received them,” he said.

Deeming issued a statement asserting that Pesutto ran the case while seemingly insolvent. “The letter simply seeks to understand who aided him to do so as I may have to seek cost recovery through them. Being a lawyer, John knew better than anyone the legal and financial risks in refusing to apologise and retract his defamatory claims against me,” she stated.

“Obviously, this is a distraction, and I would love to see this resolved,”

Deeming added, “His defences failed, I won my case and he agreed to pay my costs last year. Time has progressed but he still has 21 days from Friday to pay. he also still enjoys the ongoing public support of at least three powerful multi-millionaire backers who can easily afford to pay it.”

Financial Backing and party Impact

A crowdfunding campaign to assist the former Liberal leader with legal expenses has raised over $180,000, and Pesutto has also secured approximately $500,000 independently. However, efforts to obtain financial support from the Liberal Party or the Cormack Foundation have been unsuccessful.

The Liberal Party’s defense of Hawthorn could cost upwards of $500,000. Losing the seat, which has a narrow margin of 1.7 per cent, would further impede the opposition’s path to forming a government.

Opposition Leader Brad Battin acknowledged the situation as a distraction. “Obviously,this is a distraction,and I would love to see this resolved,” Battin told ABC Radio Melbourne. “This is a challenging time.”

Shadow attorney-general Michael O’Brien described the situation as “bizarre” and “not helpful.”

Rowville Liberal MP Kim Wells stated the issue would be resolved when “the money gets paid and we get on with our lives”.