Click here to watch the hearing live from 10.15am<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nFormer federal Liberal political staffer Bruce Lehrmann returns to the witness box on Thursday in his high-stakes defamation case against Network Ten and prominent journalist Lisa Wilkinson, after the court heard he will \u201csubmit himself to cross-examination\u201d in a bid to vindicate his reputation.<\/p>\n
Lehrmann alleges an interview Wilkinson conducted with his former colleague Brittany Higgins, aired on The Project<\/em> on February 15, 2021, defamed him by suggesting he raped Higgins in then-defence industry minister Linda Reynolds\u2019 office in March 2019.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/static.ffx.io\/images\/$zoom_0.32%2C$multiply_0.7725%2C$ratio_1.5%2C$width_756%2C$x_0%2C$y_0\/t_crop_custom\/q_86%2Cf_auto\/d5683f1a9fb90c5b0b04554d55afe36d51b7f3b1\")
<\/p>\n
Former NSW Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann leaving the Federal Court in Sydney on Thursday.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Steven Siewert<\/cite><\/p>\nLehrmann was not named in the interview but Federal Court Justice Michael Lee must decide if he was identified via other means.<\/p>\n
If the court finds he was identified, Ten and Wilkinson are seeking to rely in part on a truth defence. The media outlet has previously told the court the network would call 28 witnesses, including Higgins and Wilkinson.<\/p>\n
Lip-reading expert engaged<\/h3>\n
On the first day of the trial in the Federal Court in Sydney on Wednesday, Ten\u2019s barrister, Matt Collins, KC, revealed that the network had engaged a lip-reading expert to analyse CCTV footage showing Lehrmann and Higgins with colleagues at a bar in Canberra in the hours before the alleged rape.<\/p>\n
\u201cI propose to put propositions to Mr Lehrmann. In due course I\u2019ll ask Ms Higgins what she thinks she was saying at different points,\u201d Collins said.<\/p>\n
Collins said Ten \u201cdeliberately chose an expert from the United Kingdom who had no familiarity with either Ms Higgins or Mr Lehrmann\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u2018Seeking vindication\u2019<\/h3>\n
Lehrmann\u2019s barrister, Matthew Richardson, SC, said in his opening address to the court on Wednesday that his client was \u201cseeking vindication for the defamation that has utterly destroyed him. He comes here for justice\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe understands that he can\u2019t persuade everybody but, following the withdrawal of the criminal proceedings against him, he brings these proceedings against his most prominent accusers: Channel Ten, and Lisa Wilkinson and The Project<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/static.ffx.io\/images\/$zoom_0.32%2C$multiply_0.7725%2C$ratio_1.5%2C$width_756%2C$x_0%2C$y_0\/t_crop_custom\/q_86%2Cf_auto\/d8fc945a0f6b06c0e493fcb1fcb898670ba7a40e\")
<\/p>\n
Lisa Wilkinson outside the Federal Court in Sydney on Wednesday with her barrister, Sue Chrysanthou, SC.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Steven Siewert<\/cite><\/p>\nLehrmann was named in the media in August 2021, six months after the Ten interview, when he was charged with sexual intercourse without consent. He pleaded not guilty to the charge. His trial was aborted in October last year due to juror misconduct.<\/p>\n
The charge was later dropped altogether amid concerns about Higgins\u2019 mental health. Lehrmann has always maintained his innocence.<\/p>\n
Cross-examination<\/h3>\n
Richardson told the court on Wednesday that \u201cfor some people, the guilt of our client, Mr Lehrmann, is an article of faith\u201d, while there was \u201cundoubtedly a group of people who have always believed my client\u2019s denial of the allegation\u201d.<\/p>\n
Others were \u201cstanding in the middle\u201d, Richardson said, and \u201cthey understand that when there are no eyewitnesses, no audiovisual recording, no audio recording, no admissions, just two competing versions, that the best society can manage is to weigh that evidence in court in front of an impartial judge\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe will say what happened to him,\u201d Richardson said. \u201cHe will submit himself to cross-examination.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lehrmann started giving his evidence-in-chief on Wednesday afternoon and will continue on Thursday, before Ten\u2019s barrister begins his cross-examination of Lehrmann.<\/p>\n
\u2018Severely isolated\u2019<\/h3>\n
The former staffer told the court on Wednesday his interactions with friends and acquaintances changed \u201cdrastically\u201d after the interview aired on The Project.<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cI became severely isolated,\u201d he told the court. \u201cDe-friending, cutting me off, removing me from group chats, blocking me, the list goes on.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt sent me in a deep spiral. This, coupled with mainstream media, what was happening on social media contributed to my … quite significant mental health struggles in the early parts there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI worked out who my real friends are, that\u2019s for sure, which are not many.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cases settled<\/h3>\n
Lehrmann has settled cases brought against News Corp and the ABC. The ABC case had been due to go to trial alongside the Ten proceedings.<\/p>\n
Most Viewed in National<\/h2>\nFrom our partners<\/h3>\n
Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Click here to watch the hearing live from 10.15am Former federal Liberal political staffer Bruce Lehrmann returns to the witness box on Thursday in his high-stakes defamation case against Network Ten and prominent journalist Lisa Wilkinson, after the court heard he will \u201csubmit<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":87946,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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