An evening where Bruce Lehrmann ‘poured his heart out’ to his lawyer over a glass of scotch and fired off desperate, drunken texts to his then-girlfriend is now at the centre of his defamation lawsuit against Channel 10 and news.com.au.
On February 15, 2021, Mr Lehrmann sat down with his solicitor Warwick Korn in his Sydney office and fumed as Brittany Higgins accused an unnamed figure – him – of raping her in Parliament House in March 2019, during an interview on The Project.
Mr Lehrmann’s girlfriend at the time, Greta Sinclair, was distraught over the extraordinary televised accusations.
He placated her by firing off messages suggesting his lawyer had told him that he was a ‘pawn’ and ‘part of a bigger political hatchet job’.
During cross-examination in the Federal Court in Sydney on Thursday, Mr Lehrmann admitted to Ten’s lawyer Matthew Collins SC that Mr Korn never said that.
Text messages emerged where Mr Lehrmann told Ms Sinclair that he was having a ‘glass of scotch’ in Mr Korn’s office while waiting for Lisa Wilkinson’s interview with Ms Higgins on the current affairs show.
Bruce Lehrmann is pictured outside the Federal Court in Sydney on Thursday – where he entered the witness box at court for the first time ever
Bruce Lehrmann (pictured, centre, on Thursday) made up a version of what was happening in a meeting with his lawyer for the sake of his girlfriend, Greta Sinclair, the Federal Court heard
‘If I’m named tonight I’m up for millions in defamation … (Mr Korn) said I won’t see the light of a courtroom,’ he reassured her.
Later that evening, at 10.02pm, he sent Ms Sinclair another message that said: [Mr Korn] keeps taking notes though, very professional’.
While being grilled in court, Mr Lehrmann admitted Mr Korn was not in fact taking notes during their conversation and insisted that he just wanted to make Ms Sinclair feel OK.
‘I wanted her to think I had my house was in order’.
Dr Collins suggested the meeting with Mr Korn ‘wasn’t professional at all’ because ‘you were there pouring your heart out and drinking scotch’ and ‘Mr Korn wasn’t taking any notes?’
Mr Lehrmann admitted: ‘He wasn’t. Not to my recollection, no.’
The following day, Mr Lehrmann checked himself into Royal North Shore Hospital for psychiatric treatment where he was placed under ’30-minute’ observations. He told the hospital he had been ‘quite intoxicated’ the night before.
He then voluntarily checked himself into a mental health facility and stayed there for 12 days.
Mr Lehrmann is suing the network and news website over stories where Ms Higgins alleged a ‘male colleague’ had raped her in 2019, at Parliament House. The broadcast and online article were published that same day.
Mr Lehrmann sent a series of messages to his then-girlfriend Greta Sinclair after the allegations against him aired (pictured). He later told the court most of them were ‘fabricated’ to ‘placate’ her because she was upset
He was not named in the broadcast or article, but his statement of claim argues his identity would have been known in political circles.
Mr Lehrmann’s interlocutory hearing on Thursday was about why it took him two years to file the defamation lawsuit.
Applicants normally have 12 months after publication to file a defamation case, but Mr Lehrmann’s case was filed two years later.
His lawyers argued that it was unreasonable for him to launch the case any earlier.
Meanwhile, barristers for the broadcaster and news website argued he should not be allowed to sue for defamation because it was reasonable for him to have filed the lawsuit within the first year.
Earlier in cross-examination on Thursday, Wilkinson’s lawyer Sue Chrysanthou referred to a page in a blue notebook Mr Lehrmann kept in March 2021 – which he called ‘Higgins Matter’.
She said there was a page in the book that had the name ‘Wilkinson’ written with a horizontal line and two dashes coming from it – one dash said ‘Rush’, and the other said ‘Jarratt’.
Actors John Jarratt and Geoffrey Rush hired Ms Chrysanthou in 2021 and 2020, respectively, to represent them in defamation cases similar to Mr Lehrmann’s. Both actors were accused of rape, and sued media outlets for publishing the allegations.
While not named in the Wilkinson interview with Higgins (pair pictured above after their Project interview), Lehrmann’s statement of claim argues his identity would have been known in political circles
Speaking about Jarratt, the Wolf Creek star, Ms Chrysanthou said to Mr Lehrman: ‘You were aware that he sued for defamation, despite being charged?’
Mr Lehrmann replied: ‘I was aware of his case but not being charged’.
Ms Chrysanthou said: ‘I want to suggest to you that the reason you put [Rush’s] name there was because he sued for defamation within a week.’
Mr Lehrmann replied: ‘Not within a week’.
He then explained he intended to sue for defamation at the time, but said he didn’t have the financial capacity to pay for a defamation lawyer.
Ms Chrysanthou asked: ‘You don’t have the financial capacity now to run defamation proceedings do you?’
Justice Lee objected to that question, and she withdrew it.
Instead, she asked: You had no idea if you’d be able to obtain lawyers without paying them, did you? For defamation proceedings.’
‘Pursuing a defamation case in March 2021 was on your mind, wasn’t it?’ she continued.
Mr Lehrmann, who appeared visibly uncomfortable, said, ‘it was on my mind,’ before he explained he was advised not to launch a civil matter at that time.
The hearing was adjourned until Thursday, March 23.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk