Lehrmann has always denied the allegations and his trial was aborted because of juror misconduct.
Wong and Gallagher both denied that claim by Reynolds,with Gallagher firing back at Reynolds:“No one had any knowledge. How dare you? It’s all about protecting yourself.”
But leaked text messages between Higgins and her partner,David Sharaz,obtained byTheAustralian, suggest that Gallagher had been made aware of the rape allegations by Sharaz on February 11 – four days before they were aired for the first time on Network Ten’sThe Projectand published by News.com.au on February 15,2021.
In one of the messages,Sharaz says to Higgins that Gallagher is “really invested” in the story and that “Katy is going to come to me with some questions you need to prepare for”.
Other texts between Sharaz and Higgins suggest that Sharaz was in direct contact with Albanese when he was opposition leader. The texts suggest Albanese gave his phone number to Sharaz on April 21,2021 to organise a meeting with Higgins.
Albanese and then-prime minister Scott Morrison both met Higgins in Sydney on April 23,2021.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek also features in messages between Sharaz and Higgins on May 5,2021,as someone they should approach with information that Morrison’s former chief of staff,John Kunkel,had approached Higgins to discuss her rape allegations.