Text message twist at the centre of Network Ten’s last-minute legal application to reopen the Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial

A last-minute attempt to reopen Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case will focus on how Network Seven’s Spotlight program obtained thousands of private text messages from Brittany Higgins.

Former Spotlight producer Taylor Auerbach reportedly filed an affidavit claiming Lehrmann was the source of the lyrics.

Judge Michael Lee was due to rule in federal court on Thursday in Lehrmann’s defamation case against Network Ten and presenter Lisa Wilkinson.

However, on Sunday the court announced that Judge Lee would hear “an urgent request from Network Ten to reopen his case” on Tuesday evening.

Ten will arrange for an affidavit prepared by Auerbach alleging Mr Lehrmann provided Spotlight with Ms Higgins’ texts, news.com.au reported.

Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Mr Lehrmann provided Spotlight with that material, only that Auerbach has made an affidavit claiming he did.

Lawyers for Mr Lehrmann previously told Judge Lee that their client did not leak Ms Higgins’ phone records to Spotlight.

Auberach has threatened to sue Lehrmann for defamation over an alleged saga involving a night out and thousands of dollars in Thai massages.

According to a News Corp story, Auerbach used a Seven credit card to book two $1,000 Thai massages – one for him and one for Mr Lehrmann – in the early hours of November 26, 2022.

It was also reported that Mr Lehrmann stayed at Auerbach’s home in Elizabeth Bay for several hours after the massage, and was charged a total of $2,940 on the company card.

The late-night meeting is said to have taken place during negotiations over Mr Lehrmann’s exclusive interviews on Spotlight, which aired in June and August last year.

It is clear that Auerbach used the company card without the knowledge of key Spotlight employees. Text messages later emerged in which a senior producer, Steve Jackson, allegedly guided Auerbach in reversing the massage transaction.

However, Mr Lehrmann denied Auerbach’s version of events, telling the media: ‘It is an untrue and bizarre story from a disgruntled ex-Network Seven producer.’

Judge Lee adjourned the defamation case in December after a five-week trial that heard testimony from former Liberal staffers Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins.

Ms Higgins claims Lehrmann raped her in March 2019 in the Parliament House office of their then boss Linda Reynolds.

The allegations were aired on Channel Ten’s The Project by Wilkinson in 2021.

Wilkinson’s bombshell interview with Ms. Higgins later led to Mr. Lehrmann’s defamation lawsuit.

Mr Lehrmann was not mentioned in the 2021 interview but claims he could still be identified.

He claims there are four defamatory meanings in The Project’s report and denies allegations that he raped Ms Higgins.

Ten and Wilkinson have defended the interview, saying it was true and in the public interest because it involved an alleged sexual assault at Parliament House.

Mr Lehrmann has sought extensive damages to compensate for the alleged toll the interview took on his reputation.

His criminal trial over the alleged rape in October 2022 was previously halted after a juror brought outside sources into the deliberation room.

Prosecutors did not request a new trial due to concerns about Ms. Higgins’ mental health.

Judge Lee previously said he would start writing his judgment the day after the defamation trial ended.

Since the trial began, he has been handed more than 15,000 pages of transcripts and 1,000 separate pieces of evidence – including CCTV footage and audio recordings.

It is expected that the party that loses the multimillion-dollar lawsuit will appeal the decision.

Judge Lee heard evidence from both Ms Higgins and Mr Lehrmann about what they alleged took place in Senator Linda Reynolds’ office in Canberra in March 2019.

Ms Higgins said she had gone out for drinks with Mr Lehrmann and some colleagues and returned to Parliament House early on Saturday morning.

She claimed she woke up on Senator Reynolds’ couch to find Mr Lehrmann on top of her and that he continued the attack despite her protests.

A security guard told the court she found Ms Higgins naked and sleeping during office hours after he left.

Mr Lehrmann has consistently maintained that nothing sexual happened between him and his then-Liberal colleague, and has vehemently denied that he raped her.

During the trial, Judge Lee saw Ms Higgins and Mr Lehrmann undergo aggressive cross-examination.

Both had their credibility successfully attacked.

Mr Lehrmann was found to have had to return to Parliament House after hours for several reasons, including that he was delivering documents and that he had returned to drink whisky.

He told the Federal Court that he had gone back to add notes to the Question Time folders after receiving information from colleagues at drinks earlier that evening.

It was the first time he had to testify under oath in court when he exercised his right to remain silent during an earlier criminal trial, which was abandoned due to juror misconduct.

Ten’s lawyers called the court Lehrmann a “fundamentally dishonest man” who was willing to make outlandish, absurd lies to further his cause.

Ms Higgins also admitted that her version of events had changed over time, including acknowledging that a bruise in a photo sent to Ten may not have been caused during the alleged attack.

Most of Mr. Lehrmann’s legal team’s arguments focused on Ms. Higgins’ claims that the government carried out a cover-up to prevent the rape from being reported.

Numerous documents and other evidence were used to show that Ms Higgins faced no pressure from her bosses to keep quiet about what she claimed had happened.

Lehrmann’s lawyers have accused her of lying to keep her job after she was found naked at her workplace.

Other witnesses at the defamation case included a colleague who said she saw the couple kissing and touching before leaving for Parliament House that evening.