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Former Coalition staffer Bruce Lehrmann says “it would appear” that he was framed in relation to an allegation he raped his former colleague Brittany Higgins in Parliament House.
Lehrmann, who pleaded not guilty to raping Higgins during a trial that was ultimately aborted last year, told Seven’s Spotlight program he hadn’t ruled out suing his accuser for defamation.
The program aired vision of the pair entering Parliament House on the night of the alleged incident.
Bruce Lehrmann was interviewed on the Seven Network’s Spotlight program.Credit: Seven Network
“I’ve got some sympathy for her,” Lehrmann said, adding he believed Higgins was surrounded by people with their own agendas.
Asked during the interview why he didn’t pursue defamation action against Higgins, he responded, “I haven’t ruled it out.”
“Beware the man who’s got nothing to lose.”
A representative of Higgins said Higgins would not be commenting when contacted by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
In an allegation ultimately dropped by the ACT prosecutors’ office, Lehrmann fought a charge of sexual assault after Higgins claimed he raped her in the parliamentary office of their then-boss Linda Reynolds in March 2019.
Seven aired vision of the pair at Parliament House on the night of the alleged incident.Credit: Seven
Higgins went public with her allegation during an interview with Ten’s The Project on February 2021 and Lehrmann was charged amid intense public scrutiny later that year.
Asked during the interview whether he raped Higgins, Lehrmann replied, “no”, while also denying the pair had consensual sex or even kissed. It was put to him that, if he was to be believed that he didn’t rape Higgins, then he had been framed. “It would appear that way,” he said.
ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Lehrmann said Higgins had given a “white lie” to her boss to save her job after the pair’s after-hours entry into Parliament House sparked a security incident.
“[Then] she’s coming into contact with media elites that have sort of latched onto this given the environment at that time in 2021 to weaponise it and advance a movement, really,” he said. “A not-guilty verdict meant jack shit when the media has already convicted you.”
Higgins denied fabricating the allegation during the trial, telling the court, “I’m not a monster, I’d never do something like that.”
Repeating what he told police during a recorded interview aired in the trial, Lehrmann said that when he and Higgins entered Reynolds’ office they went in different directions, and he had left without saying goodbye.
Asked whether he should’ve asked Higgins how long she was going to be before he left, Lehrmann replied, “I suppose in hindsight, sure,” but qualified his mind was on other things.
He did also admit lying to security to get into Parliament House on the night he was accused of raping Higgins. He said he had told police the true reason he had gone back to parliament, which was to get his keys, but told both security and his then-chief-of-staff Fiona Brown something else.
The trial was aborted on October 27 due to juror misconduct, and a retrial was scrapped in December due to Higgins’ mental health.
Higgins denied she settled a civil claim against the Commonwealth for $3 million late last year, telling the program the amount was much lower.
Lehrmann accused ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC of ruining his life for launching the prosecution against him. He also criticised Drumgold for announcing that he still believed in a reasonable prospect of conviction the day he dropped the case.
Brittany Higgins went public with her allegation in February 2021.Credit: Rhett Wyman
“He took my opportunity for a not-guilty verdict away from me then he told Australia ‘I still could’ve won it.’ What the f—?” he said.
The interview aired following weeks of evidence in an ACT government public inquiry into authorities’ handling of the trial. During the inquiry, Drumgold conceded he hadn’t thought about the effect his speech that day would have on Lehrmann.
During the trial a photo of a bruise on Higgins’ leg was shown to the jury. She had also shown the photo to The Project. “It was fabricated. That’s the only explanation,” Lehrmann told the program.
“It would appear that she’s given that to The Project to enhance the weaponisation of her sexual assault allegation … it’s pretty sick.” He added that it was also “sick” that his interests could be cast aside for the benefit of the #MeToo movement.
Lehrmann said he was infuriated by Higgins’ assertion during the Project interview that he hadn’t suffered. He said he was ostracised by his friends as a result of allegations against him, and labelled the national story surrounding the allegations that had against him as an “absolute bloody furphy”.
“I mean, straight away, straight away like it is the metaphorical version of a nuclear bomb or the world exploding before your eyes. You’re being blocked. You’re being removed from group chats.”
The day of the mistrial, Higgins criticised the justice system outside the ACT Supreme Court and said she felt as though her life had been publicly scrutinised, “open for the world to see”.
“His was not. Many of you in the media have been called out for labelling the last few weeks the Higgins trial. But I don’t blame you because it’s very clear who has been on trial.”
Lehrmann also denied that he was the privileged young Liberal member he’d been painted to be, saying he was the son of a widow. “She’s got no money, I don’t have any money,” he said.
He said he had left the political sphere “because they’re a bunch of losers on both sides of politics, it was not for me”.
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