Bruce Lehrmann explains astonishing photo of him appearing to snort white substance off his dinner table for sale ‘to the highest bidder’

A stunning photo in which Bruce Lehrmann appears to snort a white substance from his dinner table was taken as a joke and is actually plain flour.

The photo was taken at Mr Lehrmann’s Sydney home at the weekend and showed him holding a Chihuahua, also called Bruce, in one hand and a rolled-up five-dollar bill in the other.

Two thick lines of powder could be seen on the table, apparently ready to be inhaled, with one line for Mr. Lehrmann and one line for Bruce the Chihuahua.

A friend also jokingly held a five-dollar bill in front of the dog’s nose.

On Wednesday morning, a tipster tried to auction photos of the scene to the highest bidder.

However, Daily Mail Australia can now reveal that the mystery substance was actually white flour left over from homemade pasta earlier in the evening.

Sir. Lehrmann then provided another photo himself to prove it was a joke.

He told Daily Mail Australia the situation was ‘clearly’ a joke and was shocked that someone had tried to sell the photos to the highest bidder.

He said: ‘Very clearly this is a joke in the last few days of amateur reporting.

‘This has been an inappropriate invasion of my privacy and a violation of my privacy.

‘Any direct or indirect suggestion that something sinister happened is grossly defamatory.’

Another photo shows a note Mr Lehrmann jokingly wrote asking his friends to put their phones in a bowl when they entered his house.

It said: ‘Please deposit all electronic devices here. Bruce will take photos with you for a nominal fee.’

The photo was taken in response to a leaked video that surfaced earlier this week showing one of Mr. Lehrmann’s dinner guests use a credit card to chop something on a plate.

On the recordings, Mr. Lehrmann could be seen sitting at the end of a table some distance from the man with the card and laughing.

He then shared a photo on Instagram showing him with a group of diners at a table spread with food.

“The family minus a couple because we don’t wait when the food is this good,” Mr Lehrmann said in a caption.

Lehrmann was accused by former colleague Brittany Higgins of raping her in Parliament House in 2019.

He faced a trial in 2022, but it was abandoned due to juror misconduct and never retried.

He has always maintained his innocence.