Shane Drumgold’s reasons for not warning Lisa Wilkinson about her Logies speech were “ridiculous,” an investigation has found.
That was just one of the findings in Walter Sofronoff’s 839-page report, delivered Monday afternoon by ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr — following an explosive month-long inquiry in May.
The public inquiry was held to investigate the conduct of police and prosecutors in Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial held in the ACT Supreme Court last October.
Brittany Higgins claimed he raped her in Parliament House in 2019 when they were colleagues – which he strongly denies.
The first case was dropped due to a rogue juror, before the charges were dropped entirely due to Ms. Higgins’ mental health.
In his report, Mr Sofronoff also said that Mr Drumgold, the ACT’s Director of Public Prosecutions, was ‘picky’ about who advised, as on three occasions he assisted Brittany Higgins with matters that could affect the trial. But he refused to do the same for Wilkinson.
However, the presiding judge also said that Wilkinson’s “45 years of experience” in journalism should have given her enough to know what could jeopardize a jury trial – adding that she was clearly not lacking in legal advice.
Lisa Wilkinson is photographed during her Logies speech in June last year. She won for her interview with Brittany Higgins
Shane Drumgold was heavily criticized in Walter Sofronoff’s report, which was handed over Monday
Mr Sofronoff referred to times when Mr Drumgold scrutinized some of Ms Higgins’s speeches and checked them for words that could jeopardize the process – including one she would give if she were given an award in public.
“This was exactly what Mrs. Wilkinson wanted Mr. Drumgold to do,” Mr. Sofronoff said.
“Nevertheless, to explain his failure, he later characterized Mrs. Wilkinson’s request as a request for legal advice.”
The chairman pointed out that Mr Drumgold ‘was no more Mrs Higgins’ advisor than Mrs Wilkinson’, as they were both witnesses in the trial at that stage.
Mr Sofronoff’s comments came about as a result of evidence submitted for the Inquiry, relating to a heated telephone conversation between Mr Drumgold and Channel 10 lawyer Marlia Saunders – four months after Wilkinson’s speech.
Marlia Saunders, the network’s attorney, had urged him to publicly correct the widely held belief that Wilkinson had told her not to speak about Brittany Higgins’ allegations at the televised TV awards, but she did so anyway.
Mr. Lehrmann’s defense lawyers attempted to file for permanent residency, meaning they wanted to drop the case altogether, on the assumption that Wilkinson’s televised speech could prejudice a jury against Mr. Lehrmann.
However, the application for residence was unsuccessful and temporary residence was granted – meaning the process was moved from June to October 2022.
During the telephone conversation with Mrs Saunders, four months after Wilkinson’s speech, Mr Drumgold referred to the rejected application for permanent residence when he said: ‘I am well aware that there is a verdict.’
“I cannot use my authority to bridge a gap that judgment cannot bridge.”
Wilkinson was heavily criticized for her June 2022 Logies acceptance speech in which she appeared to side with Ms Higgins (pictured together)
Bruce Lehrmann is pictured, left, outside the ACT Supreme Court with his attorney Steven Whybrow, right
In his findings, Mr Sofronoff said it was ‘ridiculous’ for Mr Drumgold to make those comments.
He said the failure of Mr Lehrmann’s lawyers to get the case dismissed had nothing to do with his “duty to prevent an act that threatened the trial” – the threat in this case was the Wilkinson speech.
However, the chairman also felt that Wilkinson is an experienced journalist who should have known better than to give such a speech in the first place.
‘One might think that Mrs. Wilkinson herself should have appreciated the probable effect of her intended words. She was a very experienced broadcaster,” he said in the report.
“She also attended the meeting with a lawyer whose services were paid for by Mrs. Wilkinson’s own employer, so she was not without access to legal advice.”
“One might think that before a speech like Mrs Wilkinson’s is made, it would first be considered by many minds within Channel 10, including legal minds.”
He suggested that Mr Drumgold, upon hearing the contents of Wilkinson’s speech, should have told her “emphatically” to rewrite it and, had she not done so, he should have told the Chief Justice and asked for an order to to stop her.
Mr. Sofronoff found that he did none of those things and “thereby allowed a threat to the trial to live.”
The findings eventually led to Mr Drumgold’s resignation.
He has been on paid leave since May.
The ACT Chief Minister has berated retired Judge Walter Sofronoff (pictured) for ‘breach of his good faith towards me’ by releasing his Commission of Inquiry report
ACT Chief Minister strikes down Walter Sofronoff
The report was handed over to ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr on July 31, but he planned not to release it for weeks – the contents of the report, however, were published on Wednesday.
That forced Mr Barr to release the report on Monday – which he did just before holding a press conference in which he berated Mr Sofronoff for ‘breaching his good faith towards me’.
Mr Barr told reporters he was ‘very clear’ with Mr Sofronoff that his report would not be redacted or suppressed in any way.
“He violated his good faith towards me by releasing that report before he got it for whom he was legally intended,” he said.
When asked if he would like to see Mr Sofronoff charged, Mr Barr said: ‘We are considering our options, as I have outlined’.
Mr Barr said he had not received an apology from the retired judge.
“He has tried to give an explanation,” he added.