Bruce Lehrmann takes to the witness stand in court for the first time – as his frantic texts after Brittany Higgins went public claiming he raped her are revealed by Lisa Wilkinson’s lawyer: ‘I’m ready for a little money ‘
- Bruce Lehrman is suing Wilkinson and Channel 10 for libel
- Text messages reveal his ‘state of mind’ at the time of the rape allegation
Bruce Lehrmann has been called to testify in his defamation case against Channel 10 and News Life Media – at least the first time he has stepped on the witness stand to date.
Lehrmann was sworn in at Federal Court in Sydney on Thursday morning as he sued the two media giants over stories that first saw Brittany Higgins claim she was raped by a “male colleague” in Parliament House in 2019.
He also filed a lawsuit against news.com.au journalist Samantha Maiden and its News Corp-owned parent company News Life Media for an online article making the same allegations.
He was not named in the broadcast or article, but his claim claims his identity would have been known in political circles and could be further established when he was charged with assault and publicly named in August 2021.
Lehrmann stepped onto the witness stand shortly after noon and was sworn in, describing his “outrage” when he first watched the interview of Project host Lisa Wilkinson in attorney Warwick Korn’s office.
“I was outraged by the material I saw,” he said.
It came after Lisa Wilkinson’s lawyer revealed that Lehrmann sent a series of frantic texts to a woman saying he was “up for a little cash” the day Brittany Higgins went public with her allegations that he had her raped.
Mr Lehrman is photographed clean shaven outside the Federal Court in Sydney on Thursday morning. He is suing Wilkinson and Channel 10 for libel
At an interim hearing at Federal Court in Sydney on Thursday morning, Wilkinson’s lawyer Sue Chrysanthou told Judge Michael Lee she would rely on a series of text messages between Mr Lehrmann and a woman named Greta Sinclair.
The messages were sent by Mr Lehrmann on February 15, 2021 – the day the allegations about him were aired. Ms Chrysanthou said they showed Mr Lehrmann’s “state of mind” at the time.
The court heard that Mr. Lehrmann spoke to attorney Warwick Korn before and during the time he texted Ms. Sinclair. He was particularly concerned that he would be identified as Mrs Higgins’s alleged rapist.
“Warwick doesn’t think I’ll be mentioned,” the first message read.
“If I am called tonight, I am ready for millions of slander…Channel Ten, as well as the Treasury Department, are standing up for big bucks. ‘
“All I get is reassurances,” he continued. “I want to be sure of things.”
After further discussions with his attorney, Mr. Lehrman: ‘Criminal is completely out of the game.’
Referring to the rape allegation, he said, “First, it’s false, and second, they have nothing.”
Although not mentioned in the Wilkinson interview with Higgins (couple pictured above), his claim that his identity would have been known in political circles
Higgins pictured himself speaking at the Women’s March 4 Justice last year
“But we may have civil suits,” he wrote, referring to possible defamation lawsuits against the network.
‘And tonight, [Mr Korn] said I don’t want to see the light of a courtroom. ‘
Mr Lehrmann then revealed that he had ‘two lawyers now’ and that another legal professional told him ‘I do fancy some money’.
The text messages were read to the court as part of Ms M Request from Chrysanthou to oppose the extension of the statute of limitations.
Applicants normally have 12 months from the date of publication to file a libel suit. Mr. Lehrmann waited two years to file the libel suit. His lawyers will argue that it was unreasonable for him to sue within the first year.
Wilkinson, News.com.au and Channel Ten have opposed the extension. They will argue that it was reasonable for Mr. Lehrmann to start a defamation case within the first year after the allegations against him were aired.
The intermission continues.