Bruce Lehrmann received an anonymous email warning that people were “coming for him” and that it would be a “magical 2021” just days before Brittany Higgins made explosive rape allegations against him.
Mr Lehrmann filed lawsuits last month against Lisa Wilkinson, Channel 10 digital website news.com.au and journalist Samantha Maiden for libel.
His legal action is based on a TV interview and online article on February 15, 2021, in which Ms Higgins alleged that she was raped in Parliament House in March 2019.
But new court documents just released by the Federal Court reveal that a mysterious message was sent to Mr. Lehrmann from a bogus email address using his name.
It was sent at 11:11pm on 25th January 2021 – Grace Tame, sexual assault survivor, was named Australian of the Year on the same night, who was also referenced in the mysterious emails.
Bruce Lehrmann received an ominous email warning that people were ‘coming for him’ just days before Brittany Higgins (pictured with Lisa Wilkinson) made her explosive rape allegations
New court documents just released by the Federal Court reveal that a bizarre email was sent to Mr Lehrmann from a bogus email address in his name
Pictured: Bruce Lehrmann outside NSW Federal Court in March
“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 pronounced and the truth comes out. You know what they said: the truth will set you free.
“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 email, originating from brucelehrmann1@outlook.com, was sent to Mr. Lehrmann’s personal hotmail account and later turned over to the police on April 19, 2021.
The court documents showed that he had received an earlier email on January 15 with the subject line ‘Truth will come out’ to which Mr Lehrmann subsequently unsubscribed, revealing that the email was sent from an anonymous email portal .
Details of the contents of that email were not revealed in the court records, other than the subject line.
In a police statement, Mr Lehrmann said he received the two emails prior to Ms Higgins’ allegations.
“There were, uh, two emails from a domain name that isn’t mine,” he said during police questioning.
In an email to police, he later added: “I am forwarding the two emails I received as requested.
“One of the address below that I don’t own or have ever set up and the second of what appears to be an online system for sending an email message.
“I’ll follow this email with the second email I have that has no content because I’ve canceled my address, but it does contain the subject line of the first message.”
Also included in the paper file was an email between Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins just hours after the alleged rape on Saturday, March 23, 2019, and an exchange between the pair of Liberal political staffers the following Monday.
Bruce Lehrmann’s legal action is based on a TV interview and online article on Feb. 15, 2021, in which Brittany Higgins (pictured out of court in October) claimed she was raped in Parliament House in March 2019
Also included in the paper file were emails between Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins in the hours and days following the alleged rape early on Saturday, March 23, 2019
At 10.53am on Saturday, eight hours after Mr Lehrmann was spotted by security leaving Australia’s Parliament House, where he reportedly left Ms Higgins half-naked in a minister’s office, he sent her a business email.
He forwarded a media summary regarding her role as a staff aide to then-Secretary of Defense Linda Ryenolds with an innocent message and a smiley face emoji: “Maybe see if you get on this list!” :)’
No reply was included in the court documents, but the pair exchanged further messages about the listing 48 hours later on Monday morning.
At 07:34 on March 25, he emailed her again to say, ‘I’m not allowed to send a private email! Will send David an email and put your gmail on the mailing list!’
Mrs. Higgins replied at 1:16 p.m., “So weird!
“Honestly, that would be best if you could.”
The federal court is considering whether to extend the 12-month statute of limitations for a plaintiff to sue for defamation.
Mr. Lehrmann filed the cases two years after publication.
He was not named in either article, but claims several people close to him identified him as the alleged rapist.
The interlocutory hearing concluded last week. Legal advisers from the news outlets and Wilkinson confirmed that if the trial goes ahead, it will likely take at least four weeks.