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Brittany Higgins’ boyfriend is SUED by liberal Senator Linda Reynolds because she claims a series of tweets he wrote defamed her.
- Linda Reynolds sues Brittany Higgins’ partner, David Sharaz
- She claims that her tweets during Ms Higgins’ trial defamed her.
- Reynolds was accused of ‘coaching’ the trial defense team
Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds is suing Brittany Higgins’ boyfriend, David Sharaz, alleging that he defamed her in a series of tweets.
Reynolds claims her reputation has faced unfair scrutiny since the rape trial of former Liberal employee Higgins against Bruce Lehrmann in October 2022.
Ms. Higgins alleged that Lehrmann raped her in Reynolds’ office after staff had a drink on March 23, 2019.
Lehrmann denies all the allegations and claims that he never had a sexual relationship with Higgins.
Reynolds became a leading figure in the 2022 rape trial, which was suspended after reports that a jury brought material that was not part of the evidence provided.
Now, his lawyers have filed a lawsuit against Sharaz in the WA High Court over two tweets from the @SharazDavid account in January and December last year.
Liberal Western Australian Senator Linda Reynolds has a libel suit against Brittany Higgins’ boyfriend David Sharaz (pictured with Higgins)
The senator seeks aggravated damages from Sharaz and demands that he cover the cost of legal proceedings.
Reynolds also sought an injunction that would prevent future publication of the tweets.
Sharaz has since deactivated his Twitter account.
Sydney-based law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler confirmed that WAtoday will be advising Sharaz.
Just weeks earlier, Reynolds filed a lawsuit against publisher HarperCollins over lines in journalist Aaron Patrick’s book Ego: Malcolm Turnbull and the Liberal Party’s Civil War.
The book focuses primarily on the struggle within the Liberal Party and the relationship between former Prime Ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison, but also addresses some of the party’s recent scandals, including the rape accusation of Ms Higgins.
Reynolds (above) claims that two tweets shared by David Sharaz last year falsely smeared her.
Ms. Higgins alleged that Lehrmann raped her in Reynolds’ office after staff had a drink on March 23, 2019.
During the trial, Reynolds was questioned by prosecutor Shane Drumgold about the text messages he sent to Lehrmann’s defense team during the cross-examination of Ms. Higgins.
The texts seemed to suggest a line of questioning for Lehrmann’s team to follow, however Reynolds denied claims that he tried to “train” them.
She claims that comments made in Patrick’s books are defamatory, including a passage suggesting that Reynolds told Higgins that her alleged rape was “the cost of being a woman.”
Reynolds explained that the end of the trial and a $3 million settlement between Ms Higgins and the federal government mean she is now free to seek recovery of her reputation.