A senior executive from the Seven Network has attempted to justify sending a picture of Sunrise's former executive producer bloodied and covered in bandages to a reporter at a rival news organisation and claiming it was her fault.
Seven's commercial director Bruce McWilliam reportedly told the Nine newspapers journalist that the injured producer Michael Pell had been driven to self-harm by her inquiries about a secret fraud investigation at the network.
'This is what your unfounded reports have caused Michael to do,' Mr McWilliam wrote in an email toSydney Morning Herald journalist Zoe Samios in October 2022.
'Why don't you keep it up so he kills himself,' Mr McWilliam continued, according to a report in Nine Newspapers.
An accompanying photograph showed Pell in a hospital gown with a cut on his forehead.
In fact the injuries were not the result of any act of self-harm, but were caused by a fall Mr Pell had when he blacked out on a street in Los Angeles weeks before the email was sent.
One of the Seven Network's most senior executives sent an email with a picture of Sunrise's former executive producer Michael Pell bloodied and covered in bandages. Pell is pictured centre with former Sunrise hosts Sam Armytage and David Koch
Mr McWilliam told Samios the fraud investigation she said was being conducted by law firm Seyfarth Shaw had never been undertaken.
'That law firm you name - didn't conduct any investigation,' Mr McWilliam wrote.
'If you publish untrue allegations. And he tops himself. It's on you... And we are determined to protect him.'
According to Nine, the Herald dropped the fraud investigation story due to concerns for Pell's wellbeing.
That was before it found out that the photo was not any act of self-harm.
Mr McWilliam told news.com.au he defended sending the confronting email to Ms Samios.
'I make no excuse for having acted to protect a colleague, against whom false allegations were being made,' Mr McWilliam said.
'Michael Pell has been a friend of mine for many years, and so the allegation that the image was used without his consent is ridiculous.'
Seven's commercial director Bruce McWilliam reportedly told reporter Zoe Samios that Michael Pell had been driven to self-harm by the journalist's inquiries about a secret fraud investigation at the network. Pell is pictured with Married at First Sight bride Ella Ding
Mr McWilliam said the photograph of the injuries was supplied to him by Mr Pell's husband Daniel Burgess-Wise and therefore he did not know that it did not depict any act of self-harm.
'(Nine) alleged it was... old but that wasn't made clear to me and I don't even know whether what they say is true,' he said.
'This is what your unfounded reports have caused Michael to do,' Mr McWilliam wrote in an email to Sydney Morning Herald journalist Zoe Samios in October 2022
'(Mr Burgess-Wise) asked me if I could help Michael and I if I could do something to stop the attacks on him, emanating from the questions (sent by Samios), which became increasingly fierce and misleading.'
A Seven spokesperson confirmed on Monday that Mr Pell, who drove Sunrise's ratings success and domination over Nine's Today, no longer worked for the network.
Nine reported Seyfarth Shaw had in fact been commissioned to investigate the misuse of travel benefits provided to Sunrise employees by Qantas and Accor Hotels.
It had been alleged three employees and a number of their family or friends had misused those benefits.
Seyfarth Shaw in turn hired forensic accountants to conduct an inquiry called Project Rally.
Mr McWilliam said his denial that Seyfarth Shaw had conducted an investigation was correct because it was another company running the inquiry.
Bruce McWilliam (above) told journalist Zoe Samios a fraud investigation she alleged was being conducted by law firm Seyfarth Shaw had never been undertaken
Seven instructed the law firm not to interview Sunrise staff and Project Rally made no findings against anyone, according to Nine.
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Mr Pell or anyone else employed by Sunrise or their associates misused travel benefits or otherwise acted fraudulently.
Seven has been contacted for comment.
Mr Pell was made executive producer of Sunrise in 2010 aged 28 and under his guidance the program dominated the breakfast television market.
He left Sunrise in March 2022 when Seven appointed him senior vice-president, entertainment content, North America, a role based in Los Angeles.
Seven has been criticisedover the past week following allegations its Spotlight program funded prostitutes and drugs for Bruce Lehrmann while seeking to interview the alleged rapist.
Mr Lehrmann is suing Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson over an interview on The Project in which Brittany Higgins claimed she had been raped at Parliament House.
Ms Higgins did not name Mr Lehrmann as her alleged rapist during that interview but he claims he could be identified.
Mr Lehrmann has always denied raping Ms Higgins.
Justice Michael Lee is set to deliver his findings in the Federal Court defamation case on Monday.
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