Drunk texts, whiskey, psych ward: Bruce Lehrmann reveals his darkest hour
An evening when Bruce Lehrmann ‘poured his heart out’ to his lawyer over a glass of whiskey and fired off desperate, drunken texts to his then-girlfriend is now at the center of his defamation lawsuit against Channel 10 and news.com.au.
On 15 February 2021, Mr Lehrmann sat down with his lawyer Warwick Korn in his Sydney office and was furious when Brittany Higgins accused an unnamed figure – him – of raping her in Parliament House in March 2019, during an interview on The Project.
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 cross-examination in Federal Court in Sydney on Thursday, Mr Lehrmann admitted to Ten’s lawyer, Matthew Collins SC, that Mr Korn never said that.
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.
Bruce Lehrmann is pictured outside the Federal Court in Sydney on Thursday, where he entered the witness box for the first time ever
Bruce Lehrmann (pictured, center, Thursday) made up a version of what happened during a meeting with his attorney for the sake of his girlfriend, Greta Sinclair, the Federal Court heard
“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.”
Dr. Collins suggested that the meeting with Mr. Korn “wasn’t professional at all” because “you poured your heart out there and drank whiskey” and “Mr. Korn didn’t take notes?”
Mr. Lehrmann admitted, “He wasn’t. Not as far as I remember, no.’
The following day, Mr Lehrmann reported for psychiatric treatment at the Royal North Shore Hospital, where he was placed under ’30-minute’ observation. He told the hospital that he had been “quite intoxicated” the night before.
He then volunteered at a mental health facility and stayed there for 12 days.
Mr Lehrmann is suing the network and the news website over stories where Ms Higgins claimed a ‘male colleague’ raped her in Parliament House in 2019. The broadcast and the online article were published the same day.
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
He was not named in the broadcast or the article, but his claim claims that his identity would have been known in political circles.
Mr. Lehrmann’s interlocutory hearing on Thursday dealt with why it took him two years to file the libel suit.
Applicants normally have 12 months from publication to file a libel suit, but Mr. Lehrmann’s suit was filed two years later.
His lawyers argued that it was unreasonable for him to start the case earlier.
Meanwhile, lawyers for the broadcaster and the news website argued that he should not be allowed to file a libel suit because it was reasonable that he had filed the lawsuit within the first year.
Earlier in cross-examination on Thursday, Wilkinson’s lawyer, Sue Chrysanthou, referred to a page in a blue notebook Mr Lehrmann kept in March 2021 – which he called ‘Higgins Matter’.
She said there was a page in the book with the name ‘Wilkinson’ written with a horizontal line and two dashes coming out of it – one dash said ‘Rush’ and the other said ‘Jarratt’.
Actors John Jarratt and Geoffrey Rush hired Ms Chrysanthou in 2021 and 2020 respectively to represent them in defamation cases similar to those of Mr Lehrmann. Both actors were accused of rape and sued the media for publishing the allegations.
Although not mentioned in the Wilkinson interview with Higgins (couple pictured above after their Project interview), Lehrmann’s claim that his identity would have been known in political circles
Speaking of Jarratt, the Wolf Creek star, Ms. Chrysanthou said to Mr. Lehrman: “Did you know that he sued for defamation despite being charged?”
Mr Lehrmann replied: ‘I was aware of his case but was not charged’.
Mrs. Chrysanthou said, ‘I would like to introduce the reason you have given [Rush’s] name was there because he filed a libel lawsuit within a week.”
Mr Lehrmann replies: ‘Not within a week’.
He then went on to explain that at the time he was planning to sue for defamation, but said he did not have the financial means to pay a defamation lawyer.
Mrs. Chrysanthou asked, “You don’t have the financial means to take defamation proceedings now, do you?”
Justice Lee objected to that question and she retracted it.
Instead she asked, You had no idea you could get lawyers without paying them, did you? For defamation proceedings.”
“You thought about a defamation case in March 2021, right?” she continued.
Mr Lehrmann, who seemed visibly uncomfortable, said: ‘I was thinking about it’, before explaining that he was advised not to launch a civil suit at the time.
The hearing was adjourned until Thursday, March 23.