Bruce Lehrmann is expected to sue the prosecutor’s office that conducted his rape trial and the ACT government for a staggering seven-figure sum.
Lehrmann launched defamation action last year against Channel Ten and Lisa Wilkinson over an episode of The Project in 2021 when Brittany Higgins first publicly alleged he had raped her in Parliament two years earlier.
He was tried in a month-long hearing in October 2022, but the matter was adjourned after the trial ended due to jury misconduct.
Bruce Lehrmann is expected to sue the prosecutor’s office that conducted his rape trial and the ACT government for a staggering seven-figure sum.
Former Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold dropped the matter entirely in December that year, citing concerns for Ms Higgins’ mental health.
Former Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold dropped the matter entirely in December that year, citing concerns for Ms Higgins’ mental health. Mr. Lehrmann has continually denied the allegations.
The Project did not name Mr. Lehrmann, but stated that friends and colleagues were able to identify him as the alleged rapist. The defamation case was heard in the Federal Court in December and a ruling is expected in the coming weeks.
Lehrmann has already settled defamation claims against news.com.au over an article detailing Ms Higgins’ rape allegations, and against the ABC over a similar broadcast, for a collective sum of $445,000.
Daily Mail Australia can now reveal that Lehrmann is expected to file two more lawsuits in the ACT Supreme Court in the coming days.
It is understood she will sue the ACT government and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for defamation and malicious prosecution over the way her rape trial was handled.
The defamation claim centers on a press announcement Drumgold made in December 2022, in which he told the media that the rape charge had been dropped out of fear that Higgins would not be able to withstand another trial.
However, he also used that speech to congratulate Ms Higgins for her “bravery, grace and dignity” in coming forward with her rape allegations.
“(Brittany) Higgins has faced a level of personal attack that I have not seen in more than 20 years of doing this job,” Drumgold said.
“She has done it with bravery, grace and dignity and I am hopeful that this will stop and Mrs Higgins will be allowed to heal.”
Higgins alleged that Lehrmann raped her on Senator Reynolds’ sofa inside his Parliament office when she was Defense Industry Minister in March 2019. Lehrmann denies the allegations and there have been no findings against her.
A public Board of Inquiry into the way police and prosecutors handled Lehrmann’s trial was held last May, overseen by former Queensland Supreme Court judge Walter Sofronoff.
In his conclusions, Sofronoff criticized the speech as “incorrect” because a prosecutor should not make public comments about a case he brought to trial.
“(The comments) undermined public confidence in the administration of justice and was a failure in his duty as Public Prosecutor,” he said.
The malicious prosecution is also expected to stem from the conclusions outlined in Mr. Sofronoff’s report, which states that Drumgold “lost objectivity” and “failed to act with the fairness and detachment” required as a prosecutor.
Drumgold attempted to challenge the findings of his civil matter against the ACT Board of Inquiry, but most of the report was upheld by Judge Marcus Kaye.
Daily Mail Australia also understands Mr Lehrmann’s lawyers are considering seeking a seven-figure sum to settle the matter.
Mr. Lehrmann’s botched criminal trial has led to a torrent of lawsuits between almost all parties involved.
It was revealed on Wednesday that five members of the Australian Federal Police have launched defamation action against the ACT Government over Mr Drumgold’s allegations in a letter he sent to Police Chief Neil Gaughan on November 1, 2022.
In that letter, Drumgold claimed that the police were engaged in a “very clear campaign to pressure you” not to proceed with the prosecution of Mr Lehrmann.
That letter sparked the board of inquiry, during which Mr Drumgold was forced to admit that those claims were false and that there was no police conspiracy against Ms Higgins.
Earlier this week, the defamation lawsuit between Linda Reynolds and the ACT Government was settled for $90,000 over allegations by Mr Drumgold in the same letter.
He had accused Senator Reynolds of engaging in “disruptive conduct” including political interference in the police investigation, which she strongly denied.
Lehrmann launched a defamation lawsuit against Channel Ten and Lisa Wilkinson last year.
Higgins alleged that Lehrmann raped her on Senator Reynolds’ sofa inside his Parliament office when she was Defense Industry Minister in March 2019. Lehrmann denies the allegations and there have been no findings against her.
Higgins later accused Reynolds, who was her boss at the time, of pressuring her to withdraw her rape complaint, something the senator also denies.
Additionally, Ms Reynolds is also suing Ms Higgins and her fiancé David Sharaz for defamation in the WA Supreme Court over a series of social media posts which the senator said damaged her reputation.
The group failed to resolve the dispute during a nine-hour mediation session on Tuesday, which Higgins and Sharaz flew from their new home in France to attend.
There will be another mediation session, but talks were put on hold for two weeks because Ms Higgins had a mental health episode and presented herself at a Perth hospital on Wednesday night.
Daily Mail Australia understands Mr Lehrmann could be a witness in Ms Reynolds’ defamation case if it goes to trial.