Bruce Lehrmann has revealed how the judge who preceded his trial for the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins left him shocked with a comment about his alleged guilt.
The 27-year-old former Liberal staffer, who has always denied the rape allegations against him, claimed Chief Justice Lucy McCallum told his lawyer that if he pleaded guilty, she would take that plea. into consideration when sentencing him.
Breaking her silence in her first interview since the rape trial, Lehrmann claimed the comment showed a “fear of bias” against her.
He also said he was not told about the comments until after the trial, because his lawyer, Steven Whybrow SC, was trying to “keep him alive”.
Bruce Lehrmann has claimed that the judge who preceded his trial for the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins told his lawyer that if he pleaded guilty, she would take that plea into account when sentencing him.
“I only found this out a few weeks ago and I was holding back tears,” she said. the aussie
“I took your comments to mean that if I did the ‘right’ thing to plead guilty, given that Ms Higgins suffered from mental health issues, the judge would do the right thing in sentencing.”
He added that he was “pretty upset” by the comments, but thought it was an “incredibly wise” decision not to tell him.
“He has a duty of care and the amount of stress I’ve been under, he was trying to keep me alive.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Chief Justice Lucy MacCallum.
Earlier, Mr. Lehrmann also told Federal Court that he lied on legal advice that he was “in the millions” of a libel payment to placate his girlfriend.
He claimed his girlfriend was “distraught” after Ms Higgins appeared on The Project, so she put on “a brave face” to make her feel better.
After his cross-examination, where he revealed he was “outraged” by the allegations, his court documents showing all the text messages he sent and received on the day the news broke were made public.
However, this was disputed by lawyers for the media outlet he is suing, who say the text messages showed he knew he could sue for defamation at the time.
Lawyers for Ten Network and News Corp want Lehrmann’s lawsuit dismissed because he failed to initiate proceedings within the required 12-month time frame.
They claim that the texts are evidence in his favour, as they contradict his claim that his lawyers advised him not to sue for defamation.
It occurs when Mr. Lehrmann’s texts from the night of Mrs. Higgins’ accusations are revealed.
He texted a friend asking “do I have any equipment” and saying “I need bags,” court documents revealed.
The former Liberal Party employee told friends he wanted to ‘get turned on’ because ‘nobody had a job tomorrow’ on the night of February 15, 2021.
That was the same night that Higgins appeared on The Project and alleged that she had been raped at Parliament House in 2019 by an unidentified man.
Lehrmann is suing Channel 10 and news.com.au for defamation over reports that were published in March 2021 about the allegations. He claims that the reports led to certain people identifying him as the defendant.
He has always denied the accusations.
Following his cross-examination on Thursday, where he revealed he was “outraged” by the allegations, court documents showing all the text messages he sent and received on the day the news broke were made public.
A message log shows the staffer spent the night at his lawyer Warwick Korn’s office drinking whiskey and watching The Project, which included an interview with Brittany Higgins.
The former Liberal Party staffer told friends he wanted to “get turned on” because “no one had work tomorrow” on the evening of February 15, 2021. A mockup of his WhatsApp messages is shown.
Mr Lehrmann is suing Channel 10 and news.com.au for defamation over reports that were published in March 2021 about the allegations of Ms Higgins (pictured). He claims that the reports led to certain people identifying him as the defendant.
He then texted his friend four consecutive texts saying: ‘need bags’, ‘let’s get it done’ and ‘no one has work tomorrow’ followed by ‘paying’ ‘let’s fire up’.
About 20 minutes later, he texted a friend from work saying “I’ve got gear” but she replied saying she was home and they needed to “keep it clean”.
Then he texted another friend to say ‘Come here it’s good’ followed by ‘How many bags?’
At the same time, a colleague sent him a text saying “tomorrow won’t be good” and that he needed to “get the crap under control”.
The friend from work added: ‘Clear your name mate, that’s all that matters. You only have your name and a name.
‘You have to take this seriously mate. Go home and don’t leave your apartment.
Court documents also reveal messages from the morning, when Mr. Lehrmann discovered the news after a friend texted him a link to the story asking if he “knew this girl.”
Mr. Lehrmann responded by saying that he “worked with her briefly” and “(she) was on team drinks etc.”
His friend responded by saying it was a “pretty concocted accusation” and asked if he “knew who the girl was.”
Mr Lehrmann said he had ‘not the foggiest idea’.
“No one has approached me,” he wrote.
About half an hour later, another friend sent him a text asking “if there was any gossip on who the Canberra rapist is” before adding “the story says ‘rising star’ so it rules out our mates, but do you who else?”.
He replied that he “had no idea” and that “no one had approached him” before saying that he “assumed it would fizzle out.”
“She (Ms. Higgins) is on the Project tonight, which isn’t exactly prime time,” he texted, before adding “they wouldn’t name right… pretty slanderous stuff.”
Lehrmann sent a series of messages to his then-girlfriend Greta Sinclair after the allegations against him (pictured) were aired. She later told the court that most of them were ‘manufactured’ to ‘pacify’ her because she was upset.
His friend replied, ‘Well, it’s defamatory.’
The Project or news.com.au article did not name Mr. Lehrmann. In his defamation suit, he claims that his stories included details that “could identify him” to certain people.
By 3 pm, Lehrmann had retained lawyer Warwick Korn and sat with him in his Sydney office and raged when Higgins accused him of raping her.
Texts from the next day show him thanking the lawyer for the support.
Lehrmann’s girlfriend at the time, Greta Sinclair, was distraught over the extraordinary televised allegations.
He placated her by sending her messages suggesting her lawyer had told her he was a “pawn” and “part of a larger political hatchet job.”
During further questioning Thursday, Lehrmann admitted to Ten’s attorney, Matthew Collins KC, that Korn never said that.
Lehrmann’s girlfriend at the time, Greta Sinclair, was distraught over the extraordinary televised allegations.
Brittany Higgins leaves the ACT Magistrates Court with members of her legal team in Canberra on October 14.
Text messages surfaced in which Lehrmann told Sinclair he was having a “glass of scotch” in Korn’s office while awaiting Lisa Wilkinson’s interview with Higgins on the current affairs show.
“If they name me tonight, I’m running for millions in defamation… (Mr. Korn) said I won’t see the light of a court,” he said.
Later that night, at 10:02 p.m., he sent Ms. Sinclair another message saying, “He (Mr. Korn) is still taking notes though, very professional.”
While being questioned in court, Lehrmann admitted that Korn was not, in fact, taking notes during their conversation and insisted that he just wanted Sinclair to feel good.
I wanted him to think that I had my house in order.