Bruce Lehrmann texted a friend asking “have all the gear” and said “need bags” the night Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations became public, court documents show.
The former Liberal Party staffer told friends he wanted to get “lit” because “nobody had work tomorrow” on the night of February 15, 2021.
That was the same night Ms Higgins appeared on The Project claiming she was raped in Parliament House in 2019 by an unnamed man.
Mr Lehrmann is suing Channel 10 and news.com.au for defamation over reports published in March 2021 about the allegations. He claims the reports led certain people to identify him as the suspect.
He has always denied the allegations.
Bruce Lehrmann texted friend asking ‘have all the gear’ and said ‘need bags’ the night Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations became public, court documents have revealed
Following his cross-examination on Thursday, where he revealed he was “outraged” by the allegations, court documents were made public with all the texts he sent and received the day the news broke.
A message log shows that the staffer spent the evening in his lawyer Warwick Korn’s office, drinking whiskey and watching The Project – featuring an interview with Brittany Higgins.
He then texted his friend four consecutive texts saying: “need bags,” “let’s get it done” “no one has work tomorrow” followed by “pay,” “let’s light it.”
About 20 minutes later, he texted a work friend saying “got all the stuff,” but she replied that she was home and they should “keep it clean.”
After his cross-examination, where he revealed he was “outraged” by the allegations, court documents were made public with all the texts he sent and received on the day the news broke.
He then texted another friend to say “Come here, it’s okay,” followed by “How many bags?”
At the same time, a colleague texted him saying ‘tomorrow won’t be good’ and that he should ‘keep the s*** in check’.
The work friend added, “Clear your name friend, that’s all that matters. You only have your name and one name’.
“You need to take this seriously, mate. Go home and don’t leave your apartment.”
The former Liberal Party staffer told friends he wanted to get “lit” because “no one had work tomorrow” on the night of February 15, 2021. A mock-up of his WhatsApp messages is shown
Mr Lehrmann is suing Channel 10 and news.com.au for libel over reports published in March 2021 of allegations made by Ms Higgins (pictured). He claims the reports led certain people to identify him as the suspect
The court documents also reveal reports from early in the day when Mr Lehrmann found out about the news after a friend texted him with a link to the story asking if he was ‘this girl???’ knew.
Mr. Lehrmann replied that he had ‘worked with her briefly’ and ‘(she) was at team drinks etc.’.
His friend replied that it was a “nice accusation” and asked if he “knew who the girl was.”
Mr. Lehrmann said he had no idea.
“I have not been approached by anyone,” he wrote.
About half an hour later another friend texted him asking ‘if there was any gossip about who the Canberra rapist is’ before adding ‘the yarn says ‘rising star’ so that rules out our friends but who else ?’.
He replied that he “had no idea at all” and that he had “not been approached by anyone” before saying he “assumed it would fizzle.”
‘She [Ms Higgins] is on the project tonight, which isn’t exactly prime time stuff,” he texted, before adding “they wouldn’t name, would they…pretty libelous stuff.”
Mr Lehrmann sent a series of messages to his then-girlfriend Greta Sinclair after the allegations against him aired (pictured). He later told the court that most of them were “made up” to “appease” her because she was upset
His friend replied, “Well, it’s libelous.”
The Project or news.com.au article did not mention Mr. Lehrmann. In his defamation case, he claims their stories contain details that “could identify him” to certain people.
By 3pm Mr Lehrmann had secured lawyer Warwick Korn and sat down with him in his Sydney office, enraged when Higgins accused him of raping her.
Texts sent the next day show him thanking the lawyer for his support.
Mr. Lehrmann’s girlfriend at the time, Greta Sinclair, was distraught over the extraordinary televised accusations.
He calmed her down by firing off messages suggesting his lawyer had told him he was a “pawn” and “part of a larger political hatchet.”
During further cross-examination on Thursday, Mr. Lehrmann admitted to Ten’s lawyer, Matthew Collins KC, that Mr. Korn never said that.
Mr. Lehrmann’s girlfriend at the time, Greta Sinclair, was distraught over the extraordinary televised accusations. He is pictured
Brittany Higgins leaves ACT Magistrates Court with members of her legal team in Canberra on October 14
Text messages appeared in which Mr. Lehrmann told Ms. Sinclair that he was having a “glass of whiskey” in Mr. Korn’s office in anticipation of Lisa Wilkinson’s interview with Ms. Higgins on the current affairs show.
“If I’m called tonight, I’m up for millions of slander… (Mr. Korn) said I won’t see the light of a courtroom,” he reassured her.
Later that night, at 10:02 PM, he sent Mrs. Sinclair another message saying: [Mr Korn] continues to take notes though, very professional’.
While being grilled in court, Mr. Lehrmann admitted that Mr. Korn did not, in fact, take notes during their conversation and insisted that he just wanted to make Ms. Sinclair feel good.
“I wanted her to think I had my house in order”