Shocking comment Ben Roberts-Smith made about journalists after war crime allegations were published against the highly-decorated SAS soldier: ‘I want vindication!’

Ben Roberts-Smith said his “sole mission” was to destroy the journalists who first made allegations that he was involved in war crimes, according to a new documentary on the case.

The Federal Court ruled in June that articles published by Nine Newspapers and The Canberra Times alleging the decorated SAS soldier's involvement in four murders during his deployment to Afghanistan were substantially true.

Investigative journalists Chris Mathers and Nick McKenzie, who wrote the pieces on the allegations against Roberts-Smith, have now given the public a glimpse into the investigation and subsequent defamation case.

Their documentary 'Revealed: Ben Roberts-Smith Truth on Trial', which is available to stream on Stan, contained audio claiming to be from the Victoria Cross recipient who planned to destroy the careers of the reporters who turned against him pronounced to 'destroy'.

“I just want vindication, I don't care about the money,” Roberts-Smith is heard saying to an unidentified person, who later became a source for McKenzie and Masters' investigation.

“Once I realize that, that's the end of their career and that's what I'm aiming for.

“I'm going to do everything I can to destroy them, buddy, all those journalists, that's my only mission in life.”

Investigative journalists Chris Mathers (right) and Nick McKenzie (left), who wrote the pieces on the allegations against Roberts-Smith, have now given the public a closer look into the investigation and subsequent defamation case through their new Stan documentary.

During the defamation case Judge Anthony Besanko dismissed the Roberts-Smith case against Nine Newspapers, finding the father of two war heroes was complicit in the murder. murder of four Afghan men.

The soldier was not criminally charged and has since appealed the decision.

The Stan documentary took viewers back to when the first article was published in 2018 and featured interviews with former soldiers.

McKenzie said throughout their investigation, they weren't after Roberts-Smith, they were simply “after the truth.”

Masters said many people had seen Roberts-Smith as a “bully”, adding that the soldier could not handle criticism.

He recalled an interview he had with him in 2017, before the allegations were published, and said Roberts-Smith became very defensive when he brought up criticisms from other soldiers.

“He started to lose it and called them cowards, hopeless and useless,” Masters said.

'His anger was like steam. I walked away thinking this was not a man with nothing to hide.”

Shadow Defense Minister Andrew Hastie, who also served in the Australian Defense Force from 2003 to 2015, also appeared in the Stan film.

He said there was a time when “whispers” began to circulate among soldiers about the number of deaths and “individuals taking matters into their own hands.”

Roberts-Smith was a decorated SAS soldier who had been awarded the prestigious Victoria Cross

Roberts-Smith has appealed the Federal Court's findings. He will appear in court again in February

“In those whispers, Ben Roberts-Smith's name was always mentioned,” Mr Hastie said.

An SASR soldier who chose not to be identified also spoke out against Roberts-Smith in the documentary.

“Here's a man who thinks he's going to win the war in Afghanistan by killing as many people as he can,” he said.

The case – which lasted 110 days over four years – was the second longest and most expensive defamation trial Australia has ever seen, reportedly costing $25 million in legal fees.

The court found that Nine Newspapers had proven the “substantial or contextual truth” of all but two of Roberts-Smith's defamatory allegations and all but two of the allegations they made against the soldier.

The judge found Roberts-Smith 'murdered or complicit in and responsible' for the murder of four Afghan men between 2009 and 2012.

The former SAS corporal is believed to be involved in the murder of two Afghan men during a mission to Whiskey 108 on April 12, 2009.

He was also found to have been involved in the murder of an Afghan man on a mission to Darwan on September 11, 2012 and an Afghan man on a mission to Chinartu on October 12, 2012.

He was also found to be a war criminal because he had “violated the moral and legal rules of military engagement.”

Roberts-Smith has appealed the decision and will appear in court again in February.

“Revealed: Ben Roberts-Smith Truth on Trial” premiered on Stan on December 10.

The judge found Roberts-Smith 'murdered or complicit in and responsible' for the murder of four Afghan men between 2009 and 2012