Columnist Peter FitzSimons warned Fairfax his friend, the Treasurer Joe Hockey, was considering defamation action and "wants blood" after a story was published calling him a "Treasurer for sale", a court has heard.
"Darren, I guess you know Joe is talking defamation, he wants blood," Mr FitzSimons wrote in an email to Sydney Morning Herald editor-in-chief Darren Goodsir on May 5, 2014, the day the story appeared.
Mr Hockey is suing Fairfax Media for defamation in the Federal Court in Sydney, claiming the story - about a political fundraising organisation in his electorate called the North Sydney Forum - alleged that he was corrupt.
Mr FitzSimons, a Fairfax columnist, said in his email that Mr Hockey was "an honest man" who "would never get close to anything like that".
He said while he didn't believe the story accused Mr Hockey of corruption, he thought the headline was "unfortunate".
Cross-examination of Mr Goodsir continued on Thursday with Mr Hockey's barrister, Bruce McClintock SC, asking about the "Treasurer for sale" headline which appeared in Fairfax's Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers, as well as online and in newspaper advertising posters.
The journalist who wrote the story, Sean Nicholls, sent a list of 13 questions to Mr Hockey's office on the Friday before the story was published.
The court has heard those questions - about the membership of the NSF and Mr Hockey's attendance at events - did not mention money.
When Mr McClintock asked Mr Goodsir why the Treasurer was not warned the story would say he was for sale, Mr Goodsir replied Fairfax had been very fair in providing the questions 60 hours before publication.
He said the headline, which he wrote on the day the story went to print, was "an accurate reflection of the story".
Mr Goodsir agreed "Treasurer for sale" could be interpreted as "Treasurer can be bought".
However, he disagreed with Mr McClintock's suggestion that "treasurer can be bought means treasurer is corrupt".
The hearing continues.
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