We now know the board had in its possession written evidence that Milne had interfered with the ABC's editorial operations - and detailed claims he had done so on more than one occasion.
As Fairfax Media reported earlier this week,the ABC chairman used an email to tell his managing director to sack high-profile presenter Emma Alberici following a complaint from Malcolm Turnbull,the recently deposed prime minister who is also Milne's close friend and one-time chairman at OzEmail.
The email was contained in a dossier circulated by Ms Guthrie to the board last week as she fought to hang on to her job. These board documentsalso contained claims that Milne had pressured Guthrie to"shoot"ABC political editor Andrew Probyn,who was the target of government anger over his reporting.
Milne has reportedly warned failure to fire the star journalist could jeopardise government funding for Project Jetstream,a vague but ambitious and expensive technology project that will seek to digitise the ABC's vast archives.
Setting aside the board's unanimous decision to sack Guthrie,it seems extraordinary that the board ignored this evidence and further claims of interference in editorial operations by Milne.
As the scandal raged and staff demanded action,the board held a crisis meeting on Wednesday afternoon. Those present at the board meeting reiterated their support for Milne - effectively endorsing his actions. It's understood not all members of the board were present for the meeting.