Justice Michael Lee said:“I take it it was a passionate kiss.”
“Yes,” Gain replied.
Lehrmann has denied touching or kissing Higgins,and denied that the pair had any sexual contact at any stage.
Lehrmann’s barrister,Steven Whybrow,SC,put to Gain,who said she could not recall leaving the bar,that her recollection was not accurate and there was “no pash”.
“I reject that. That is a memory that I have,” Gain replied.
Gain agreed she sent a text via messaging app Telegram on Saturday,March 23,2019,to an aide-de-camp to Reynolds,which read:“Brittany hooked up with Bruce.” She said this was a reference to the alleged kiss.
She told the court that she had previously worked with Higgins for about four months in the former defence industry minister’s office but did not believe she had met Lehrmann before.
In an affidavit filed in court,Gain set out a Telegram message she sent Higgins on February 15,2021,after News Corp published an interview with Higgins,which said:“Thinking of you today. I really want you to feel supported and strong. You’re braver than I was at your age. Xx.”
Gain said she had not heard from Higgins since and had not attempted to communicate with her.
She also set out Telegram messages,sent days earlier in February 2021,in which Higgins apologised for the “random message” but said Lehrmann had sexually assaulted her in the early hours of March 23,2019,after drinks at 88mph. Lehrmann has strenuously denied the allegation.
Dr Matt Collins,KC,acting for Ten,has alleged in court that Lehrmann “made up a scandalous allegation” that Gain colluded with Higgins “to make up false evidence against him”.
“I invited him to withdraw the allegation,but he declined to do so. The allegation is without foundation,” Collins said.
Higgins gave evidence last month that she recalled Lehrmann “being handsy with me” at 88mph and “I didn’t want it,but I was tolerating it”. Asked if he did anything else,Higgins said:“Not that I recall.”
Former Liberal staffer Austin Wenke,who also attended drinks at The Dock and 88mph on March 22 and into the early hours of March 23,2019,gave evidence on Wednesday that he did not recall any specific interactions between Higgins and Lehrmann.
“Would it be fair to say if you’d seen them kissing in front of you that that would likely have been something you would have remembered?” Whybrow asked.
“Look,possibly,but as I said I don’t recall specific interactions,and it’s been some time since that evening,” Wenke said.
Drinks at the Kingston Hotel
Earlier on Wednesday,former Liberal staffer Nicole Hamer gave evidence that Lehrmann told her on March 2,2019,that he found Higgins “good-looking” and urged her to invite Higgins to drinks that night.
Hamer said Higgins ultimately attended the drinks and that at some point during the night Lehrmann took Higgins’ phone away “as a bit of play,I guess,to … stop her from being able to book her Uber” and leave.
Lehrmann has denied taking Higgins’ phone,and has told the court he did not recall saying that Higgins was good-looking or that Hamer should invite her to drinks.
Jesse Wotton,a second staffer present at the drinks on March 2,said that both he and Lehrmann urged Higgins to stay for another drink,but he believed she left “shortly after”.
He said he did not recall Higgins’ phone being taken from her or it featuring in any subsequent conversation with Hamer or Reynolds,as he believed it would have if it had occurred,but he was “reluctant to deny anything occurred”.
Sexual assault denied
Lehrmann has denied sexually assaulting Higgins in Reynolds’ office in the early hours of March 23,2019,and has told the court that there was no sexual contact between the pair at any stage.
Lehrmann’s ACT Supreme Court trial for sexual assault was aborted last year due to juror misconduct. The charge against Lehrmann was later dropped altogether owing to concerns about Higgins’ mental health. He has always maintained his innocence.
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The defamation suit
Lehrmann is suing Network Ten and Wilkinson for defamation over an interview with Higgins,aired onThe Projecton February 15,2021,that he alleges wrongly accuses him of sexually assaulting Higgins. He was not named in the broadcast and a preliminary issue in the case is whether he was identified via other means.
If the court finds he was identified,Ten and Wilkinson are seeking to rely on a range of defences including truth,which would require the court to be satisfied to the civil standard – on the balance of probabilities – that he raped Higgins. In a criminal trial,the prosecution must prove a person is guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
Lehrmann’s deal with Seven
On Tuesday,the Federal Court released exhibits in the case revealing details of Lehrmann’s exclusive interview deal with the Seven Network. Under the terms of the deal,Seven agreed to provide Lehrmann with “12 months accommodation at a residence to be agreed by Seven and the interviewee” and said “the residence may be used by Seven to arrange and film any parts of the Seven exclusive”.
An invoice tendered in evidence suggested fortnightly rent from June 8 to June 22 this year was calculated at $4000. However,there is no indication that the invoice was ultimately paid or if it reflected the ongoing rental arrangement.
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