The Federal Court has released a trove of never-before-seen images and audio as part of Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation battle with Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson.
The Federal Court on Monday released a trove of audio and CCTV material as part of Lehrmann’s successful defamation claim against broadcaster and journalist Lisa Wilkinson.
The former political staffer has filed a lawsuit over Higgins’ interview with The Project in which she alleged she was raped by Lehrmann inside Parliament House, and Judge Michael Lee is expected to hand down his ruling in the coming months.
On Monday, the court uploaded a CCTV camera of Ms Higgins, dressed in a white cocktail dress, and Mr Lehrmann entering Parliament in the early hours of Saturday, March 23, 2019.
After a night of drinking with colleagues in two bars, the two employees entered Parliament shortly before 1.45 in the morning.
Lehrmann (pictured) arrives at the Federal Court of Australia in Sydney in February
Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins are pictured entering Parliament on the night of the alleged rape.
Higgins (pictured) took off his shoes as he entered parliament
An audio recording released by the court captures the moment Lehrmann calls an intercom and asks a security guard to let him in.
“Oh, hello friend, this is Bruce Lehrmann with Minister Linda Reynolds,” Mr. Lehrmann says in the recording.
‘They have asked us to collect some documents. I have forgotten my pass.
“Umm, just a second,” the security guard responds.
“Thank you friend, we are right at the ministerial entrance,” says Mr. Lehrmann.
During the trial, Network 10 and Ms Wilkinson’s lawyers attacked Mr Lehrmann’s explanations for his early morning entrance into Parliament.
In his testimony, he said he returned to Senator Reynolds’ office to collect his keys and while at his desk he took notes on the ministerial briefings.
On the stand, he admitted he lied to get through security.
When asked by his barrister Steve Whybrow SC why he didn’t explain that he had left his keys in his desk and needed them to get into his flat over the weekend, he said: “I thought security would say ‘fuck you and “The next one comes back.” week’ and I needed to get home’.
But Channel 10 lawyers attacked it as a “serious lie” that “implicated Senator Reynolds in their deception.”
“If the real reason Mr. Lehrmann attempted to gain access to the ministerial suite was to retrieve his keys, he could have explained to security that he had locked himself out of his apartment over the weekend,” the chain’s lawyers said in their statements. final arguments, which have been released by the court.
Mrs Higgins (pictured) jogged briefly to catch up with Mr Lehrmann, who was walking ahead of her.
Ms Higgins and Mr Lehrmann (both pictured with a security guard) were captured on CCTV walking towards Minister Reynold’s office.
The moment the couple entered Minister Reynold’s office (pictured with the security guard)
“He accepted that he could have told security that, but said he didn’t tell security that reason because they would have thought it was a ‘minor thing’.”
At the heart of the case is what happened behind closed doors in Senator Reynolds’ suite between 1:48 am and 2:30 am on the morning of March 23, 2019.
Higgins alleged that she blacked out and woke up on a couch to find Mr. Lehrmann on top of her raping her.
Lehrmann has denied having any sexual contact with Higgins and says that when he entered the senator’s office he went to her desk to the left and she turned right and he did not see her again that morning.
CCTV released by the court on Monday shows Higgins and Lehrmann entering parliament at around 1.45am and then leaving separately about 7½ hours apart.
The security vision shows them approaching the security checkpoint and placing their belongings on a tray before crossing.
Mr. Lehrmann, in a blue shirt and black pants, goes first, followed by Mrs. Higgins.
It happens twice, but they tell you to take off your shoes after setting off the metal detector.
She has a hard time putting on her shoes and decides to venture out with her heels in her hand and her bag under her arm.
Another angle shows Ms. Higgins breaking into a short, light trot in an attempt to catch up with Mr. Lehrmann, who had already walked away.
CCTV captured Mr Lehrmann (pictured) leaving Parliament at 2.33am before exiting through a door.
Ms Higgins (pictured) left Parliament shortly after 10am
Other CCTV footage shows Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins being led through the corridors of Parliament House by a security guard, Nikola Anderson.
Mr. Lehrmann pulls his phone out of his pocket and watches it as they approach Senator Reynolds’ office and are escorted inside.
They enter the doors at 01:48 and 15 seconds, CCTV reveals.
What happened inside the senator’s office over the next 45 minutes is the crux of the case.
Mr Lehrmann is seen leaving parliament at 2.33am, passing through security before exiting through a gate.
Ms Higgins is seen leaving Parliament House through security shortly after 10am, wearing a jacket, which she took from a box inside the senator’s office, in CCTV footage. and waving to a security guard as he passed.