Prosecutors urge ACT Supreme Court to sentence David McBride to jail for sharing classified information with journalists

Former military lawyer David McBride is in the ACT Supreme Court for sentencing after pleading guilty last year. (Four Corners: Nick Wiggins)

Commonwealth prosecutors have called for former military lawyer David McBride to be jailed for illegally sharing classified material with journalists.

McBride was back in court on Monday for a sentencing hearing after he pleaded guilty to three charges of stealing and unlawfully sharing classified military material.

During the hearing, it emerged 207 of the documents taken by McBride were classified as secret.

Prosecutors said he had copied the material, loading it into a backpack and taking it home, over a long period of time.

The court heard the documents were stored in plastic bins in his cupboard, before being handed to journalists in a plastic bag for them to copy.

Commonwealth prosecutor Patricia McDonald told the court it was an egregious breach of McBride’s duty as a military officer and lawyer.

“It wasn’t just military information, it was sensitive military information,” she said.

She said he had violated the trust placed in him in his position.

“But for his classification, he would not have had access,” Ms McDonald said.

Ms McDonald disagreed with McBride’s lawyers who said the risk was small and there was no particular harm apparent.

“We had to tell our allies about it,” she said.

Ms McDonald said as a result of McBride’s actions there was a risk of ongoing loss of confidence in international relationships.

Ms McDonald also pointed out McBride had been given time to pursue his complaint at work, which raised the question:

“Why there had to be the surreptitious copying and removal to his home … it suggests he is gathering this information for possibly other purposes,” Ms McDonald said.

She suggested McBride had been arrogant, abandoning the internal investigation he initiated, without waiting for the result.

McBride’s lawyers urge court to find his motivation was honourable

But McBride’s lawyer Stephen Odgers urged the court to find his client’s motivation for sharing classified documents with journalists was honourable.

Mr Odgers said McBride “honestly believed there was misconduct within the Australian Defence Force”.

Mr Odgers said he had a perception there were improper investigations, in a “cynical window dressing” exercise where some people were being prosecuted when they had done nothing wrong.

He was charged after handing the classified material to journalists Andrew Clark, Chris Masters and Dan Oakes.

In a statement read to the court by his lawyer, McBride said he felt it was his duty to say something.

“I was looking for a crack investigative reporter, I couldn’t do it myself,” McBride said.

The ABC used the material as the basis for its series The Afghan Files, which revealed allegations Australian troops were involved in illegal killings in Afghanistan, even though that was at odds with McBride’s intention in sharing the documents.

Mr Odgers told the court his client had tried to resolve the matter internally.

“He’d come to the view that internal investigations would go nowhere,” Mr Odgers said.

“He was not motivated in any way by personal advantage.”

After the fact, Mr Odgers said McBride honestly believed he was doing his duty and not anything illegal.

“He honestly believed he was not committing a criminal offence,” Mr Odgers said.

The court has also been asked to take into account McBride’s mental health at the time of the offending, when he had PTSD, was abusing alcohol and had major depression.

The court has received 13 character references for McBride with many highlighting his “passion for justice”.

His lawyers said the court should find he was a person of good character.

McBride will be sentenced next Tuesday.