The federal court will be asked today to reopen the defamation case against Network Ten former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann with explosive new evidence being considered for submission.
An urgent meeting will be held at 5pm today to debate the inclusion of an explosive 2000-page affidavit sworn by ex-Spotlight producer Taylor Auerbach. According to News.com.au, the document contains Auerbach’s account of Bruce Lehrmann’s dealings with the Seven Network and numerous attachments that reveal the Spotlight program’s attempts to “wine and dine” Lehrmann to secure the now infamous Spotlight interview.
Network Ten is presenting the new evidence in the hope that it will prove the network’s allegations in the interview were true. Lehrmann’s team is expected to argue against the material being submitted as evidence and against reopening the case.
The saga began in 2021 after an interview with Brittany Higgins on The Project in which she first alleged she had been raped by the former Liberal staffer back in 2019. While Lehrmann was not named in the interview, his lawyers told the court that he was identifiable through the information provided on the program. It was alleged that Lehrmann lost friends and was excluded from social media groups after the interview aired.
Lehrmann was later charged with the alleged rape and stood trial in 2022, vehemently denying all allegations made against him. The trial ended without result as a result of Juror misconduct, leaving Network Ten open to a defamation case, which was promptly launched by Lehrmann’s team.
After hearing five weeks of evidence and arguments from both sides, Justice Michael Lee was preparing to deliver his judgement on Thursday. However, if deemed compelling enough to re-open the case, the new evidence could delay a decision even further.
