DPP Shane Drumgold’s huge backflip on Bruce Lehrmann, Brittany Higgins trial claim

A top prosecutor who led the Bruce Lehrmann rape trial no longer believes there was political interference in the case, just a day after telling a commission of inquiry he thought there was “probably” a conspiracy.

Shane Drumgold SC, ACT’s Director of Public Prosecutions, made the stunning backflip while being questioned by his own attorney Mark Tedeschi KC during day four of the investigation on Thursday.

The inquiry was launched following a heated email from Mr Drumgold to ACT Chief Police Officer Neil Gaughan on November 1, 2022 – between when the trial was aborted in October last year and when the case was completely dropped on December 1.

Then-political aide Brittany Higgins accused Lehrmann of raping her in Parliament House in March 2019.

He pleaded not guilty, and after an aborted trial for juror misconduct, the assault charge was dropped in its entirety due to concerns about Ms. Higgins’ mental health.

“I would like to express my serious concerns about what I see as quite obvious interference by investigators in the criminal justice process,” he wrote at the time.

“I believe that at the end of the trial there should be a public inquiry into both political and police conduct in this case.”

Mr Drumgold was still of opinion on Wednesday when he said it was ‘possible, if not likely’ that there was a wider conspiracy by the Australian Federal Police not to press charges against Mr Lehrmann.

But on Thursday, after reviewing correspondence with the police officers at the time, Mr Drumgold changed his mind and admitted he may have been ‘mistaken’.

When Mr Tedeschi asked Mr Drumgold if his current opinion had changed since he wrote the letter last November, the prosecutor said it was not a question of interference, but probably a ‘skill shortage’ of investigators.

Brittany Higgins alleged that Bruce Lehrmann raped her in 2019. He denies the allegations

That is to say, he believed that the police had not conducted an objective investigation into Mr Lehrmann – claiming that senior officers were biased against Ms Higgins and unable to separate their own views from the case.

Mr. Tedeschi said, “So you admit that your suspicions about the existence of political interference in the course of events were incorrect?”

Mr. Drumgold replied, “I’ll accept that.”

Mr Tedeschi continued: ‘The suspicions you had last November at the end of the trial, when it was cut short, have those suspicions been dispelled?

Mr Drumgold replied, ‘Yes, they have been.’

The prosecution went on to allege that police erroneously attributed stereotypes to Ms. Higgins, based on what they believe an alleged rape victim would or would not do – Walter Sofronoff, who is leading the investigation, described them as “rape myths.”

“Stereotypical analysis of the way a complainant would behave – a real complainant would never go to the media or would tell everyone immediately – these stereotyped beliefs that there is a standard to how a complainant would behave,” he explained.

He went on to say that throughout the investigation, police “passionately” held the false assumptions about Ms Higgins and referred to Detective Inspector Marcus Boorman, who at one point said he would resign if Mr Lehrmann was convicted.

“It is clear that he had lost his objectivity to the point where he would resign – that is evidence that he clung too passionately to what I believe was an erroneous analysis,” Drumgold told the inquiry.

He explained that assuming subjective views about a study demonstrates a “complete absence of objectivity.”

Mr Drumgold claimed it was ‘likely’ there was a wider conspiracy in the case against Mr Lehrmann (pictured), but later changed his mind

“If those views are adopted early and passionately, they will create conformational bias and affect the research.”

Earlier on Thursday, Mr Drumgold told investigating police he was trying to get an expert witness to review CCTV footage of Ms Higgins walking through Parliament House on the night she claimed she had been assaulted and said she was not drunk.

“The proposal was to find an expert, and they had a doctor in mind, to give an opinion that showed … she wasn’t drunk,” he said.

“What we’re dealing with is body mapping… there’s no recognized area of ​​expertise in recognizing drunk people.

“The evidence is that people with different levels of intoxication look different, and objectively they can look very different.”

He also pointed out that there was also CCTV footage from the same evening showing Ms Higgins consuming 11 alcoholic beverages in approximately four hours.

The investigation continues.