Brittany Higgins has hit back at Linda Reynolds after the former minister accused her in court documents of conspiring with her husband David Sharaz to overthrow the Morrison government.
The documents were filed by Senator Reynolds’ legal team, with the former Defence Industry Minister suing Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz separately in Western Australia’s Federal Court over comments they made on social media that she says defamed her.
The trial is scheduled to take place in early August after several rounds of mediation talks between the parties failed to reach an agreement.
Court documents have been amended to allege that Ms Higgins (a former staffer to Senator Reynolds) and Mr Sharaz participated in a political conspiracy designed to use her rape allegations against the Liberal/National government.
A spokesman for Ms Higgins responded to the new allegations on Tuesday, saying: ‘Brittany Higgins stands by her truth about the consequences of her rape in Parliament.
“She is being forced back into the courtroom for a third time to investigate these distressing events.”
Senator Reynolds’ updated statement of claim, obtained by The Australian The paper claims Ms Higgins “acted maliciously” by making social media posts about how the government handled her rape allegations.
“They were published as part of a plan by the defendant and Mr. Sharaz to use the defendant’s allegations of rape and political cover-up… as a weapon to inflict immediate political damage on the plaintiff and the then government,” the statement of claim said.
Brittany Higgins and her current husband David Sharaz (both pictured) were allegedly feeding false information to Anthony Albanese’s closest allies in an attempt to destroy the Morrison government, according to shocking new court documents
Senator Linda Reynolds (pictured) alleges that part of her scheme included arranging meetings with Labor figures including Katy Gallagher and Penny Wong, who were allegedly given false information.
Senator Reynolds alleges that part of that scheme included arranging meetings with Labor figures such as Finance Minister Katy Gallagher and Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who were allegedly given false information.
Senators were then encouraged to ask “aggressive questions” during Question Time in February 2021, shortly after Higgins went public with her rape allegations against former colleague Bruce Lehrmann in March 2019.
In a text message exchange included in court documents, Mr Sharaz messaged Ms Higgins: “Katy is coming to see me with some questions you need to prepare for… she is really involved now.”
In Senate Question Time on 17 February 2021, Senator Gallagher accused Senator Reynolds of engaging in a “cover-up” by failing to answer questions about whether Ms Higgins was encouraged not to report the alleged rape to police.
“By withholding information, what he is doing is continuing the cover-up that has been going on for two years, which has been the cause of much trauma for Ms. Higgins,” Sentaro Gallagher reportedly said.
‘It is often the cover-up that is as traumatic as other elements of a serious crime like this, because it compounds the trauma.
“That means the people she worked for, the people she looked up to and expected to treat her properly, didn’t.”
Senator Reynolds alleges that these “aggressive” questions and the fallout from Ms Higgins’ interview with The Project, which aired that same month, led to her being hospitalised.
In alleging a conspiracy, the statement of claim also refers to several text messages between Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz.
On 17 February 2021, Senator Katy Gallagher (pictured) accused Senator Reynolds during Question Time of engaging in a “cover-up” by failing to answer questions about whether Ms Higgins was encouraged not to report the incident to the police.
In a message sent in March 2021, Ms Higgins wrote: “He’s about to f*** him (Scott Morrison). Hold on. We got him.”
On March 28, 2021, Mr Sharaz wrote: ‘Suck your f*** Linda… You are a horrible human.’
The statement of claim also refers to the five-hour pre-interview meeting between The Project presenter Lisa Wilkinson, her producer Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz.
In it, Mr Sharaz outlined a timetable for conducting the interview to coincide with the Senate estimates hearings.
“Mr. Sharaz said, ‘I asked Britt, ultimately, what did she want to get out of this?’ And she said, ‘Well, I want Bruce to have a hard time getting a job forever, just like it will be for me,'” the statement of claim reads.
‘Apparently addressing the defendant directly, Mr Sharaz said: ‘and then he said, at best, Linda Reynolds…’ and the group burst into laughter.’
Ms Reynolds’ statement of claim also alleges that Mr Sharaz arranged meetings with other senior Labor figures, including then-Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and deputy leader Tanya Plibersek.
The newspaper reported that Ms Higgins is defending the allegations.
In April this year, Judge Michael Lee handed down a 324-page ruling in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case, concluding that rape did take place.
But Judge Lee also found no evidence of the political “cover-up narrative” he said was pushed by Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz “from the outset” of their decision to speak to Lisa Wilkinson on The Project in February 2021.
He described that narrative as “objectively short on facts but rich in speculation and internal inconsistencies.”
Shortly after the ruling, Ms Reynolds told the Daily Mail Australia that it “would be an understatement” to say she was satisfied with Judge Lee’s ruling, describing the whole affair as a “cover-up that never existed”.
“For three years I have endured intense public scrutiny, defamation, vile ridicule and being demonized as the villain of a political cover-up story that I always knew was false,” she said.
Ms Reynolds said she was “committed to fully vindicating” her reputation following Judge Lee’s landmark finding.
The trial is scheduled for August 2.
