Higgins contacted Lehrmann twice after alleged rape, court told

afr.com:

Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann says he learnt he was accused of rape on the day an interview with his accuser aired on The Project, and didn’t see its journalists’ attempts to ask for comment until he was in a mental health facility a week later.

On the second day of his high-stakes defamation trial against Network Ten and its former journalist Lisa Wilkinson, Mr Lehrmann, 28, spent about six hours in the witness box.

Bruce Lehrmann arrives at court on Thursday. 

He is suing Ten and Wilkinson over an interview with a former parliamentary colleague, Brittany Higgins, that aired on The Project in February 2021. In it, she detailed her allegation of rape in then-defence minister Linda Reynolds’ office after a night out with friends.

The show did not name Mr Lehrmann, but he has argued he was identifiable from the details given.

One of Mr Lehrmann’s barristers, Steven Whybrow, SC, questioned him about his work, mental state and on the details of the night of March 23, 2019, when he is alleged to have raped Ms Higgins. Parliament House CCTV footage was played for Justice Michael Lee in the Federal Court.

Mr Lehrmann has denied the allegations.

Ten’s barrister, Matthew Collins, KC, spent hours on Thursday probing inconsistencies in Mr Lehrmann’s story of the night. He told the court he went back to parliament with Ms Higgins – after partying at a nightclub – so he could get his keys and go home. He spent 45 minutes there, CCTV footage shows. In three different explanations to different people, he said he was there to get his keys, pick up briefing documents and his work pass, and to drink whisky.

Lisa Wilkinson.  

The hearing is expected to go until mid-December, and has been described as a “de-facto rape trial” – Ten