Bruce Lehrmann drops allegations about his ‘controlling’ girlfriend, claiming he was abused by her the same year Brittany Higgins went public with the rape claim
- Bruce Lehrman claims he was abused by ex-partner
- He claims to have suffered a “serious” hand injury in 2019
- Anonymous emails in his own name sent an ominous warning
Bruce Lehrmann claims to have been physically and verbally assaulted by a “controlling” girlfriend the same year Brittany Higgins claimed he raped her in a Parliament House office.
In files from the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney released by the Federal Court on Friday, Mr Lehrmann alleges the abuse took place over seven months in 2019.
The former staffer told hospital staff that his then-partner “physically beat, verbally abused and controlled” him before the couple split in mid-2019.
One of the alleged altercations resulted in Mr Lehrmann suffering a ‘serious’ hand injury after she hit him with a ‘broken cup’.
The alleged incident caused the couple to separate just months after Ms Higgins alleged she had been sexually assaulted in the office of then Defense Secretary Linda Reynolds at Parliament House in Canberra.
The medical records were subpoenaed by Mr Lehrmann’s defense as part of his defamation suit against Channel 10 presenter Lisa Wilkinson and Samantha Maiden, the political editor at news.com.au.
Mr. Lehrmann is suing the media for their coverage of Ms. Higgins’ sexual assault allegations.
He was not mentioned in her interview with Lisa Wilkinson on The Project or the website article, but claims his identity would have been known in political circles.
The former staffer has always denied having had any sexual contact with Ms Higgins.
Bruce Lehrmann (pictured) claims he was physically and verbally abused by a former partner in the same year. Brittany Higgins claims she was sexually assaulted
The court documents also showed Mr Lehrmann drank six alcoholic drinks “most Friday and Saturday nights, up to 10 SD (standard drinks)”.
He also admitted using cocaine “occasionally” in social situations, but denied using cannabis and other drugs on a regular basis.
According to the documents, Mr. Lehrmann had accumulated $25,000 in credit card debt after moving from Canberra to Sydney and “partying after breaking up with an ex.”
The suspension from work following the sexual assault allegations caused the former staffer to experience “worsening nightmares” due to the financial stress.
The allegations of the attack on the parliament building came as “a huge shock” to Mr Lehmann, who shortly afterwards “contemplated suicide”.
The medical documents were subpoenaed by Mr Lehrmann’s defense during his defamation suit against the media for their coverage of allegations against Brittany Higgins (Ms Higgins is pictured outside the ACT Supreme Court in October)
Among other court documents was an email sent to Mr Lehrmann from an anonymous email address warning him that people were ‘coming for him’.
The email went on to say that it would be a “magical 2021” before Brittany Higgins went public with her sexual assault allegations.
The message was sent at 11:11pm on 25 January 2021 – the same night, advocate and sexual assault survivor Grace Tame was named Australian of the Year.
Ms. Tame was referenced in the email sent from “brucelehrmann1@outlook.com.”
“Bruce, a woman has spoken out about what happened to her tonight, and she’s Australian of the Year,” the email read.
“I want you to think about what you’ve done and what lies ahead for you. It is inspiring when justice is done and the truth comes out. You know what they said: the truth will set you free.
Pictured is a mock-up of the email sent by ‘brucelehrmann1@outlook.com’ to Mr. Lehrmann’s personal hotmail account on January 25, 2021
“How many people know what you did and how many have you told. How many cameras are there in the parliament building and how many people tracked down the vision.
‘Think about it. Two ex-staff from Aussies, now guards.
“It will be a magical 2021.”
The federal court is considering whether to extend the 12-month statute of limitations during which a plaintiff can sue for defamation.
Mr. Lehrmann filed the cases two years after publication.