Last Saturday, at about 7pm, The Malta Independent Online announced the news that pardoned oil trader George Farrugia broke his media silence and gave an exclusive interview to The Malta Independent on Sunday.

Just after, but not later than 8pm, a Twitter attack on this media house and one of its directors began. Not by those who stand to gain and walk away if George Farrugia's pardon is revoked, but strangely enough by three journalists from MaltaToday. It was baffling to say the least to see how Saviour Balzan, co-owner of MaltaToday, on-line editor Matthew Vella and junior reporter Miriam Dalli of the same news stable, threw themselves in the pit claiming that this media house was about to whitewash George Farrugia's shady deeds, simply because it got the exclusive interview which they did not have.

It was rather strange to watch how they squirmed at the thought of such an interview without even knowing what was going to be said in it. Unwittingly, driven by an urgent sense of panic that something might go wrong in their detailed plan to get the pardon revoked, the MaltaToday troupe lashed out at their fellow journalists from this newsroom simply because we got the exclusive story.

It is unbelievable that one day they pose for selfies chanting Je suis Charlie rubbing shoulders with us, that they join hands in the SHout No for Spring hunting with us, and the next day, blast this newsroom for interviewing a pardoned criminal simply because it doesn't suit their agenda.

It's high time people start calling MaltaToday for what it really is. It's been in bed with Joseph Muscat's Labour Movement since 2008, providing it with the much-needed platform to demonize and destroy Lawrence Gonzi. The new bunch at the helm of the PN are in total denial and want to warm up to MaltaToday, fearing another attack which could cost them much more than the general election.

MaltaToday is inconsistent when it claims that The Malta Independent gave a platform to a pardoned fraudster. The interview MaltaToday published with convicted former Sliema mayor Nikki Dimech springs to mind. They got the exclusive that day, and we never cried foul. Not to mention the fact that when former EU Commissioner John Dalli was dismissed by President Barroso, Maltatoday acted like it owed Dalli a living and gate-kept from its readers any truth which, in any way, could put the former commissioner in bad light. The reasons behind this behaviour are too laborious to entertain in this leading article, and we don't wish to go there anyway.

This newsroom gave the same treatment to John Dalli as it did to George Farrugia and to all those who were open to being interviewed. We also asked the Farrugia brothers to give their version of events, but they refused pending court proceedings.

In an age when journalists need to find common ground and unite to fight corruption, such as the marvellous efforts made by the ICIJ, MaltaToday ought to adopt some commonsense and stop attacking its colleagues and focus on real journalism. This has been a very sad incident, which does no good to our profession.

We expect MaltaToday to retract its attacks on free journalism.