Lehrmann admits fabricated texts in defamation hearing

Bruce Lehrmann's first day giving evidence in his defamation case revealed a stark disconnect between the confidence he expressed on the night Brittany Higgins' rape allegations aired publicly and the admissions he was forced to make in court.

Under cross-examination by Channel 10's counsel, the former Parliament House staffer acknowledged he had fabricated portions of text messages he sent to his girlfriend on February 15, 2021—the night Higgins' interviews were published. The admission highlighted questions about the accuracy of his recollections during a tumultuous period that would ultimately see him charged criminally, tried, and then cleared when the case collapsed.

Lehrmann's reaction to the allegations being made public was immediate and emotional. He described feeling "outraged," "angry," and "upset," and told his lawyer Warwick Korn that day he wanted to "fight back against the media." He spent six hours in legal consultations, clearly shaken by what was happening.

Yet the messages he sent that same evening painted a very different picture: one of calculated confidence. Messaging his girlfriend, Lehrmann expressed certainty about his legal prospects. "If I'm named tonight then I'm up for millions in defamation," he wrote. He also assured her that criminal exposure had effectively disappeared. "Criminal is off the cards completely," he stated in texts read aloud in the Federal Court.

That bravado proved premature. Within five months, Lehrmann was charged with sexual intercourse without consent in August 2021. His criminal trial collapsed in October 2022 after juror misconduct, and prosecutors abandoned the case in December, citing concerns about Higgins' mental health. He has consistently denied the allegations, and no conviction was ever recorded.

Now, the defamation case he launched in February this year stands before Justice Michael Lee, who must decide whether to extend the deadline for filing—a ruling that will determine if the case can proceed to trial. Lehrmann is suing Channel 10 and Lisa Wilkinson, along with News Corp and political editor Samantha Maiden, over their coverage of Higgins' allegations.

In seeking to extend the deadline, his legal team points to three factors: legal advice he received at the time, the pendency of the criminal proceedings, and his mental health. All played a role, they argue, in preventing him from acting faster.

But the fabricated text admissions have now called into question the reliability of his own account of events—particularly about what happened that first night, what he was told, and how he was thinking. In cross-examination, he was confronted with inconsistencies in his evidence about when he sought counsel and what legal advice he received.

Higgins has alleged Lehrmann raped her in former Defence Minister Linda Reynolds' Parliament House office in March 2019. She initially complained to police in April 2019 but asked them to halt the investigation before the election was called. When her interviews aired nearly two years later, they reignited a saga that has consumed both their lives since—and now sits before the courts once more.