Bruce Lehrman’ returns to social media two years after Brittany Higgins broke her silence 

Bruce Lehrmann has returned to social media two years after being accused of raping Brittany Higgins in a Canberra parliamentary office in 2019.

The former political collaborator shut down his Facebook and Instagram accounts when the feud broke out in 2021, but is now believed to have returned to Instagram.

He had previously been kicked off Twitter by a mysterious stalker just weeks before Ms Higgins made her accusations public.

A new closed private account has been opened in the name of Bruce Emery, Mr. Lehrmann’s middle name, and includes his initials and year of birth 1995.

The account’s biography includes a version of a poignant quote from American author Mark Twain: “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth puts on its shoes.”

It also reveals that he is now a law student aspiring to be a criminal lawyer, and is a “handy golfer.”

The account’s avatar photo appears to show him sitting smiling outside a beachside fishing hut, next to a fishing rod and bait box and a yellow cricket bat.

The account is hidden from the public, but has posted eight posts and already has 244 followers, while following 1,451 other users.

Lehrmann, 27, reportedly dumped all of his social media accounts in the immediate aftermath of Ms Higgins going public with her allegations in February 2021.

She alleged that the pair returned drunk from a night out in Canberra to the office of then-Minister Linda Reynolds, where she was then allegedly raped.

Mr Lehrmann has always denied the allegations and his criminal trial was halted last October due to misconduct by a juror.

Plans for a new trial were later dropped and all charges against Mr. Lehrmann were dropped due to concerns about Ms. Higgins’ mental health.

Mr. Lehrmann is now suing Ten, News Corp and the ABC for defamation over their reporting on the allegations.

Court documents released last month revealed how Mr Lehrmann dumped his Twitter account after being repeatedly tricked by a mysterious stalker before Ms Higgins, 28, went public.

Transcripts of his interviews with the police investigating the alleged rape describe how he was repeatedly harassed by a user impersonating him and sending him “disgusting” messages.

“I deleted Twitter because it was so brutal, just impersonating, using my photo, my biography and then they would send tweets,” Mr. Lehrmann told detectives.

“There have been numerous attempts to impersonate my account. They wouldn’t have any followers, but they would tweet at me… Only with disgusting things.

“I would report it and this person would create another account.”

He said he never reported it to the police because “I didn’t think my life was in danger and I thought it was a keyboard warrior.”

He said the attack on Twitter began in the first half of January 2021, just weeks before Ms Higgins made her claims public in February 2021.

Mr Lehrman told police that ‘several accounts were created’, sending him messages calling him ‘Bruce the rapist’ and claiming ‘You are a rapist’.

‘[They were] Trying to follow me, tag me,” he told detectives, according to the court documents.

But he insisted, “I didn’t think much of it at the time, of course.”

He said he changed his passwords to lock his account, but ended up deleting his Twitter account when the stalking continued.

He added, “I suspended my Twitter account way back in January when anyone impersonated my account.”

Mr Lehrmann also told police how he had also received chilling messages from a fake email account in his name, warning him that someone was ‘coming for him’

It added: ‘It will be a magical 2021.’

He also told detectives that he had received a friend request on Twitter from Ms Higgins’ now fiancé, David Sharaz.

Mr. Lehrmann said, “I never really knew him.

‘I may have met him in the course of my career when he was a journalist. But he sent me a friend request on Twitter.

“I got an in-box on Twitter saying, ‘Hi, Bruce, uh, thanks for adding me. You may remember me from when you worked with Linda Reynolds.”

“I’m gone, oh, okay.”

An ACT Commission of Inquiry – equivalent to a Royal Commission – into the prosecution of Mr Lehrmann opened on Monday to investigate allegations that police pressured ACT Chief Prosecutor Shane Drumgold over the case.

It examines whether the various criminal justice authorities involved – including the police, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Commissioner for Victims of Crime – have acted correctly.

Heard on the opening day of the investigation that the relationship between police and prosecutors during the investigation had been “strained by tensions” from the outset.