Paul Reynolds rejects negative briefing claims at tribunal

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

RTÉ journalist Paul Reynolds told the Charleton tribunal on 14 June 2018 that he did not believe sources had negatively briefed him about Sgt Maurice McCabe.

Reynolds was questioned about notes taken in preparation for an RTÉ broadcast on 9 May 2016. They referred to a 2006 sexual-abuse allegation against McCabe, which was investigated and dismissed by the Director of Public Prosecutions the following year, saying there was no evidence of a crime.

Reynolds said he had never used the information in his notes and it was never broadcast. He said he did not focus on rumours about McCabe once he learned the DPP had dismissed the case. He also said the tribunal chairman should not rely on his notes to reach conclusions. Michael McDowell SC, questioning Reynolds on McCabe's behalf, said the notes were contemporaneous records of conversations.

The tribunal was examining whether former garda commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan influenced or attempted to influence the broadcasts concerning McCabe. Barrister Noel Whelan said John Barrett, whom McCabe had identified as his source for an allegation that O'Sullivan personally planned the broadcasts using briefing material, had given the tribunal a statement saying this did not happen. McDowell said he would seek instructions from McCabe, who had depended on Barrett's statement when making the complaint.