The most high-profile defamation case in Australian history has concluded. Former Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has failed in his attempt to sue media organizations for publishing details of his war crimes in Afghanistan. Today’s outcome was not the conclusion of a criminal trial, but of a civil case initiated by Roberts-Smith himself. It was one of the most expensive trials ever held in Australia.

Investigation of Roberts-Smith’s alleged war crimes is still ongoing, but the Federal Court in Sydney found that, on the balance of probabilities, Roberts-Smith did do most of the things the journalists reported. His actions included the murder of unarmed civilians.

Roberts-Smith has become the face of bad behavior on, around, and after the battlefield. But his fall from grace has raised some uncomfortable questions about the cozy connections between big business, the military, and parliament. As a consequence, the political elite now finds itself in an awkward position, simultaneously pondering criminal charges against former soldiers and trying to prepare the Australian public for a new war with China.