More than $600,000 of taxpayer funding was spent by the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) on defending a defamation case against journalist Jon Stephenson.
The figures were released to 3 News under the Official Information Act, with the largest part of the bill being $468,000 for three barristers.
The legal action related to a statement by Lieutenant General Rhys Jones when he was chief of the Defence Force, which was made in response to an article the freelance journalist wrote in 2011.
The statement suggested Stephenson had not spoken to the commander of the Afghan Ministry of Interior Response Unit, as he reported.
Three weeks ago it was announced the three-year defamation battle had been settled.
Stephenson received an undisclosed payout, but he was originally seeking $500,000.
If he received such an amount, that would take the cost of the case to more than $1 million for the NZDF.
3 News
