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May 4th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda “He must furnish these emails,” Dr Emerson said. “[Or] Mr Pyne should categorically rule out ever having emailed Mr Ashby.”
Through a spokesman, Mr Pyne said: “I’ve never had any contact of any nature with James Ashby in relation to the Federal Court action.
“If the Labor Party or anyone else has evidence that contradicts that statement, they should produce it,” he said.
It is the third time this week Mr Pyne has been forced to alter his account of his dealings with Mr Ashby after he said at the weekend his contact with Mr Slipper’s former staffer had been brief.
“I walk into the reception in the Speaker’s office with Speaker’s staffers there,” Mr Pyne said on Sunday. “I’ve said hello to all of them, so I passed the time of day with all of them.”
After the National Times revealed on Tuesday that on the night of March 19 Mr Pyne spent almost two hours drinking and chatting with Mr Ashby and another Slipper staffer in the Speaker’s office, the Liberal frontbencher defended the meeting, saying: “I have nothing to hide.”
Mr Slipper was not present for the majority of the evening, returning late after an adjournment debate in the chamber. Mr Pyne left the office shortly after Mr Slipper’s arrival.
Asked if he had ever sought Mr Ashby’s contact details, Mr Pyne replied: “I don’t remember ever having asked for Mr Ashby’s number.”
But Mr Pyne again altered his recollection of the March 19 meeting on Wednesday when the existence of Mr Pyne’s email – and a subsequent text message – was revealed by Fairfax papers.
“I don’t remember asking for those, but by the same token I could well have,” he told ABC Radio yesterday when asked if he had sent the email.
The email added instant fuel to claims made by Labor that Mr Pyne and others in the Coalition had prior knowledge of Mr Ashby’s sexual harassment claim lodged against Mr Slipper, which has forced Mr Slipper to stand down indefinitely from the chair.
Mr Pyne this week confirmed he had met Mr Ashby three times – including a meeting at which he personally handed over a wine bottle signed by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott intended as a farewell gift for a Slipper staffer.
It is understood Mr Pyne’s meeting with Mr Ashby to hand over the wine – initially delivered to Mr Abbott’s office for signing – was only three days after the late-night meeting in the Speaker’s office.
Australian Federal Police this week confirmed they had interviewed Mr Ashby, who has accused Mr Slipper in a separate criminal claim of rorting Cabcharge dockets.
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