Bruce Lehrmann praises legal team ahead of Channel Seven interview

Bruce Lehrmann has taken to Instagram to praise the legal team that defended him during his 2022 rape trial – just hours before his Channel Seven television interview bombing.

Mr Lehrmann took to social media on Sunday to mark the one-year anniversary since his legal representatives banded together to help him fight allegations that he raped Brittany Higgins in Parliament in 2019.

The former parliamentary aide has consistently denied any wrongdoing and claims he had no sexual contact with Ms Higgins.

In the post, which was accompanied by the theme song of the popular US television series Law & Order, Mr. Lehrmann shared several photos of him walking alongside his defense team during his ACT Supreme Court trial last October.

“One year ago today a Defenders crack team [sic] collected to perform for me,” he wrote.

“They did so with little preparation to face Goliath. He just silently felt their presence,” he said alongside a love heart emoji.

Mr Lehrmann was represented by barrister Steve Whybrow, junior counsel Katrina Musgrove and Rachel Fisher, a barrister at the leading Canberra law firm, Kamy Saeedi Law.

Expressing his appreciation for their work, Mr. Lehrmann to joke about the dynamics within the group.

“Thanks to Captain Steve Whybrow SC (but actually it was Rachel),” he wrote.

The heartfelt post comes as Mr Lehrmann will break his two-year silence on an extended episode of 7News Spotlight on Sunday at 7pm – where journalist Liam Bartlett will ask tough questions about the night Ms Higgins claims he raped her.

In a promo released by Channel Seven on Thursday, Mr Lehrmann appeared uneasy when asked to confirm whether Ms Higgins was ‘lying’ when she claimed he had assaulted. His response was not broadcast.

Bruce Lehrmann (pictured) was interviewed for a full-length episode of 7News Spotlight, airing Sunday

Mr Bartlett spoke to Sunrise presenters David Koch and Natalie Barr on Friday morning and said Mr Lehrmann had waited ‘a long time’ to tell his side of the story.

“I think he’s wanted to get his side of the story out for a long time, to have his say, because he’s seen his accuser speak for a long time on many different public platforms, on a national stage,” said Mr. Bartlett.

“I think his legal team probably backed off for a while.”

When asked why Mr Lehrmann did not testify at his criminal trial in the ACT Supreme Court in October, Mr Bartlett pointed out that his interview with the police had been broadcast before the jury.

During that interview, Mr Lehrmann said he and Ms Higgins entered the ministerial suite of Parliament House in the early hours of March 24, 2019 – he claimed they were going in different directions and that he had only caught an Uber house.

However, Ms. Higgins claimed she woke up to find Mr. Lehrmann having sex with her in the office of Linda Reynolds, who was their boss and the Secretary of Defense Industry at the time.

He was never called as a witness during the trial.

It was further revealed that Mr Lehrmann is ‘very angry’ that former Prime Minister Scott Morrison apologized to Ms Higgins, even though her allegations were unsubstantiated.

“I think that’s very much fair play, forget the names of the players involved,” Mr Bartlett said.

“Any premise that the legal system evades by acknowledging that the person in question is a victim before there’s a process to determine if he or she is a victim — makes a national apology — I think that’s pretty dangerous stuff.”

He also touched on the hefty payment Ms. Higgins received from the Commonwealth for sexual discrimination, disability discrimination, workplace victimization — all for which she received up to $3 million.

Brittany Higgins (second from left) alleged that Mr. Lehrmann raped her. He denies the allegations

‘The money aspect is very interesting, isn’t it? Because we know that Brittany Higgins has already received a large amount of compensation on several levels for her claim against the government.

“None of those details have been made public.”

Mr Bartlett said Mr Lehrmann was youunderstandably he was apprehensive and nervous’ about the upcoming feature film, ‘but very determined to get his part out’.

Despite speculation that Mr Lehrmann was being paid to do the interview, a network spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that was not the case.

“7NEWS Spotlight did not pay Bruce Lehrmann for the interview, but the program helped with accommodation as part of filming the report,” they said.

Mr Lehrmann was tried in October last year at a 12-day hearing, but was overturned after a juror brought banned literature to the court.

Shane Drumgold, ACT’s Director of Public Prosecutions, dropped the case altogether in December over concerns about Ms Higgins’ mental health.

Mr. Lehrmann has always vigorously maintained his innocence.

The interview with Bruce Lehrmann will be broadcast by Spotlight on Channel Seven on Sunday evening at 7 p.m