Brittany Higgins partner David Sharaz called ‘puppet master’ by Bruce Lehrmann over rape claims
Bruce Lehrmann claims David Sharaz, Brittany Higgins’ fiancée, has been a “puppeteer” who carefully conspired to use her rape claims to “overthrow” the coalition government.
Ms Higgins alleges she was sexually assaulted by Mr Lehrmann in a ministerial office in the early hours of March 23, 2019, while both were working as Liberal staffers, allegations he strongly denies.
Mr Lehrmann has seized leaked texts between Mr Sharaz, who worked as a Labor staffer, and Ms Higgins to claim they demonstrate the ‘weaponization’ of the rape allegations for political purposes.
Daily Mail Australia does not suggest that any of the parties to the criminal proceedings who received the material leaked it.
“He (Mr. Sharaz) just keeps injecting himself into it,” Mr. Lehrmann said The Australian.
“He’s just more concerned about how best to twist it or sell it or get something out in the media.”
Former Liberal Party staffer Bruce Lehrmann claims the rape allegations against him were ‘weaponized’ to ‘bring down’ the Liberal Party
Texts leaked on Thursday show Mr Sharaz basking in the fame Ms Higgins’s broadcast of her rape allegations garnered following the revelation in a TV interview with Channel 10’s Lisa Wilkinson on February 15, 2021.
After the show aired, Mr. Sharaz eagerly texted Mrs. Higgins, asking if she was “spotted” and recognized.
A month after the interview with The Project, Ms. Sharaz jokingly texted Ms. Higgins, “Don’t drop me now that you’re famous,” and minutes later texted “We’re radiating power.”
In other lyrics, he gloated about the pair being invited to socialize with former Prime Ministers Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull.
Mr Lehrmann claimed that Mr Sharaz’s behavior showed that he was a ‘class A typical political executive’ as he was merely ‘selling a message’.
“It wasn’t about me, it was about a bigger cause, and it was clear to the Labor Party,” said Lehrmann.
He accused Mr. Sharaz of “riding the wave of Higgins’ fame.”
Mr Lehrmann said evidence presented by senior AFP agent Emma Frizzell during the inquiry into the handling of his aborted rape trial in October also supports his conclusions.
Constable Frizzell said that during a halftime break in the first taped police questioning of Ms Higgins in March 2021, Mr Sharaz ‘came into the room unconcerned about Ms Higgins’ welfare’.
The officer said Mr Sharaz ‘began showing and discussing media coverage to Ms Higgins’.
Mr Lehrmann has accused Ms Higgins’ fiancé (pictured left) David Sharaz (pictured right) of being a ‘puppeteer’
Newly leaked text messages Mr Sharaz sent to Ms Higgins show him joking and bragging about the level of recognition she has
“I believe the level of media involvement has influenced the course of the investigation into Ms Higgins’ complaint,” Constable Frizzell said on May 26.
“I believe it was a tool driven by Ms. Higgins and Mr. Sharaz, evidenced by the first appointment I had with them, where Ms. Higgins advised that she wanted to see how the media played before making a statement.”
Another freshly leaked text shows Mr Sharaz giving Ms Higgins a job as she prepared to file her rape claims.
In a message to Ms Higgins on January 1, 2021, he wrote: ‘Emma wants me to tell you she is about to advertise for a media consultant. It’s 80-90k and if you need a job short term to fill a void.’
‘Emma’ is his girlfriend Emma Webster, who was working for the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria at the time.
She was previously a senior adviser to Chancellor of the Exchequer Katy Gallagher, who is under intense investigation into whether she misled Parliament by not being aware of Mr Higgins’ rape allegations before they were aired in the media.
Mr Sharaz said Ms Higgins would work with Emma to ‘move the Treaty forward’ and said it would bring his ‘two favorite women’ together in the same workplace.
The stream of leaked texts and audio recordings surrounding Hs Higgins’ rape allegations has become a political crisis for the Albanian government.
Another text reveals that Mr. Sharaz gave Mrs. Higgins a job as she prepared to make her rape allegations.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Katy Gallagher (pictured) is accused of misleading Parliament because she was unaware of Ms Higgins’ allegations before they were broadcast by the media
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and Senator Gallagher are all charged with conspiring with Mr Sharaz, Wilkinson and Ms Higgins to ‘weaponise’ the charges to harm the Morrison government.
The criminal trial last took place in the ACT last October was abandoned after a juror brought unauthorized material into the jury room.
A second trial was set to go ahead in February, but Shane Drumgold, ACT’s director of public prosecutors, dropped the case because of the “significant and unacceptable” risk to Ms Higgins’ mental health.
The handling of the case by the Australian Federal Police and the Department of Public Prosecutions is now being reviewed by an independent inquiry.