Internet mogul Kim Dotcom has denied another accusation by Whale Oil blogger Cameron Slater that he was responsible for hacking Slater's blog website earlier this year.
"Cameron Slater's hacking accusations are simply designed to deflect attention away from his dirty political behaviour," Dotcom said in a statement this evening.
"This has been designed to shift focus away from Slater's own dirty dealings on behalf of the National Party.
"I've said it before but I'll say it again to be perfectly clear - I had nothing to do with any alleged hacking. And while we're on the subject, I had nothing to do with Nicky Hager's book, either."
Hager, the author of the book Dirty Politics, told TVNZ's Q +A programme today that Dotcom was "absolutely categorically" not the source of information he had received. And Dotcom earlier took to twitter saying Slater is "wrong" and a "right wing conspiracy theorist".
In a post on the right-wing blogger's site this afternoon, Slater pointed the finger at Dotcom, posting screen shots of text messages between the Mega founder and his former security manager Wayne Tempero.
Read more of today's coverage:
•Labour calls on Nats to name infiltrator
• Hager's tell-all chapters
• Patrick Gower: Key's weak link is enemy within
• Rodney Hide: Hager's 'explosive' claim a fizzer
• MP burgled and hacked
"We all know by now that I had my emails hacked in February," Slater posted this afternoon.
"We also know that David Farrar has had his intellectual property stolen, and that Mark Mitchell had his personal emails hacked and his office broken into.
"What I can also now reveal is that Tony Lentino, the businessman who formerly financially supported Kim Dotcom also had his office broken into.
"On top of that Travis who works for the blog was also hacked along with another media person who has been a vocal critic of Kim Dotcom.
"Until now we haven't had the proof, only a bunch of dots to join but we now have the complete picture."
Following the revelations in Nicky Hager's book Dirty Politics this week Tempero contacted Slater about a text exchange he had with Dotcom in June, Slater said.
"Remember just two days ago we released a text message from Kim Dotcom where he implied he was the one responsible. That text was sent to Wayne Tempero," Slater said on his website today.
A screen shot of the texts purporting to be from Dotcom read: "Wayne, I know what's coming. I want to offer you a friendly way out. It's going to get ugly. You don't want to be on the wrong side. You know me. Let's have a chat. Kim."
Another screen shot states that Dotcom had been "collecting evidence for three months", and had "hired professionals to get me information".
But Kim Dotcom tweeted the following:
Mr dirty blog repeats allegations I'm behind the hack of his blog based on benign txt msgs. He's wrong & a right wing conspiracy theorist :)
Watch: Key responds to Hager book 'Dirty Politics'