Senator’s explosive Brittany Higgins spray

Before we begin. This episode contains detailed allegations of sexual assault from The Australian. Here's what's on the front. I'm Christinamio. It's Tuesday, July ninth. The government is upping the Defense Forces drone game, but former commanders say it's not doing

At least a decade.

It's time to change the rules. That's according to Labor Party MPs and officials who've backed an overhaul of century old caucus voting rules. It follows the resignation of Western Australian Senator Fatima Payman, who crossed the floor to side with the Greens on the issue of Palestinian statehood. That story is live right now at the Australian dot com dot au. An Australian senator alleges Brittany Higgins conspired with David Scherraz to leak false information to some of the

I did answer your questions to the point that you ground me to the ground and ended me ended up in hospital.

But I'm answering questions.

That's Western Australian Senator Linda Reynolds at a Senate estimates hearing held a couple of years ago. She's being questioned by Labour Senators Katie Gallagher and Penny Wong, and things are getting tense.

Well, you just stage that we put you in hospitals. You just said I put you in hospital, Senator Reynolds.

Well, if so, you're visit is not Higgins or Senator wal Nobody.

Questions. Nobody takes pleasuring.

A few months earlier, a young Liberal staffer named Britney Higgins had publicly alleged she was raped in Linda reynolds Parliament House office by one of her colleagues. We don't now that colleague was Bruce Lhriman. He worked as an advisor to Reynolds, who was the Defense Minister in twenty nineteen. Brittney Higgins also alleged in that interview with the Project that her assault had been covered up by the government of the day.

I would try and raise it and I would try and bring it up.

Then it was always it always sort of came back to sort of being a me issue.

And if you can't deal with it then then you can leave.

It was suggested that the Labor Party, which was in opposition at the time, had seized upon the allegation for political gain. That's because Labor used the Senate estimates process to put the heat on Reynolds.

My final question, Senator Reynolds, was it your decision to send miss Higgins to Perth for the duration of the election campaign? Senator Gallagher, again, that's also subject plea investigation. How hands that was your final question than Senator Gallagher, that was beneath you.

Bruce Lehreman was subsequently charged with rape and stood trial in the Act Supreme Court later in twenty twenty two, but the proceeding was sensationally aborted due to dura misconduct, and the former Director of Public Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold, declined to pursue a retrial out of concern for Britney Higgins's mental health. That means Lehreman was never criminally convicted of

Having escaped the lines dead, mister Lehman made the mistake of coming back.

For his hat.

He also found there was no cover up of the alleged assault by Linda Reynolds or her former chief of staff Fiona Brown, or anyone else in the former coalition government.

As we will see when examined properly and without partiality, the cover up allegation was subjectively short on facts, but long on speculation and internal inconsistencies. Trying to particularize it during the evidence was like trying to grab a column of smoke.

Now, an explosive legal document filed by Linda Reynolds could flip the whole thing on its head, she says. Higgins and Chiraz were out to destroy her career and bring down the government when they leaked information to some of the PM's most senior ministers. Linda Reynolds is suing Britney Higgins and her husband David Schiraz for defamation in the

They were published in furtherance of a plan by the defendant and mister Schiraz to use the defendants allegations of a rape and the political cover up as a weapon to inflict immediate political damage upon the plaintiff and the then government.

Reynolds also says further posts made by Britney Higgins throughout the mediation process were designed to taunt and harass her, and the Senator claims they breach a deed signed by Higgins in which they agreed not to publicly criticize or disparage each other. Coming up more from Senator Linda Reynolds's explosive statement of claim. Subscribers to The Australian get first access to exclusive stories like this one. Join us at the Australian dot com dot au and we'll be back

At all times thereafter, mister Charraz acted as a conduit for communication between Miss Wilkinson and executive producer Angus Llewellyn and the defendant.

The month before the interview went to air, Higgins, Charraz, Wilkinson, and the project's producer, Angus Llewellyn hunkered down for a five hour brainstorming session.

One for a chand thanks your gym and tonic. Now, yeah, those friend.

Rolls are actions they Recordings made of that session revealed the group kicked around ways to drum up interest in the interview. That included recruiting politicians who they believed could put pressure on the government.

Got it.

Do you have friendly.

And that could find questions at question time?

Oh?

Certainly, Albo. Yeah, I tell you, curvasyly.

Also on that list was Labor Senator Katie Gallagher, who you heard at the top of this episode. A charge of text messages between Higgins and Chiraz published by The Australian last year revealed this was a tactic the pair had explored before. In those texts, Charraz, a former journalist and media advisor, boasted to his then girlfriend about his close relationship with Gallagher. Higgins responded that Chiraz should go

So no, the answer to the question about the allegation of mislead is now, I did not mislead the Parliament. I was responding to an assertion that was being made by the Minister Reynolds at the time that we had known about this for weeks and had made a decision to weaponize it. That is not true. It was never true. I explained that to Senator Reynolds that night. She accepted that explanation.

In her statement of claim, Senator Linda Reynolds has kicked things up a notch. She says some of the government's highest ranking politicians were deliberately fed false information by Higgins and Chiraz.

It can be inferred that the defendant provided Senators Wong and Gallagher with the information forming the basis of those questions referred to above in circumstances where the defendant knew this information was false.

Reynolds also states that messages exchanged by the pair show their strategy was designed to inflict maximum political damage. In one text included in the senator's statement of claim, Sharaz rights, just.

Need to make sure this whole thing comes out in a sitting week, and she.

Says it's backed up by comments made in that five hour Brainstorm session with Lisa Wilkinson and Angus Llewellyn, where Shiraz suggested timing the broadcast of the project interview with a sitting week. Senator Linda Reynolds also says that conversation is proof there was a target on her back. In her statement of claim, she says Higgins wanted Lerriman to be rendered unemployable and for Reynolds to be booted from Parliament as a result of her taking her story public.

I asked Britt, ultimately, what do you want out of this? And she goes, well, I want Bruce to forever have it difficult getting a job, like it's going to be difficult for me. And then you said, best case scenario Linda Reynolds.

The defamation trial gets underway in WA's Supreme Court on August two. Brittney Higgins is expected to defend the allegations against her. The case continues, and you can read our ongoing coverage of all parties arguments, as well as Elie Dudley's full breakdown of Linda Reynolds' statement of claim right now at the Australian dot com dot au