Brittany Higgins: Linda Reynolds accused of giving alleged rapist Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyer tips

Senator Linda Reynolds asked Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyer for transcripts of Brittany Higgins’ evidence and told him to look at particular text messages while her partner sat in the back of the court watching the former staffer give tearful evidence, the jury in the high-profile trial has been told.

The senator has told the court she did not get her hands on any of the material because her lawyer told her it was “not appropriate”.

Former Liberal staffer Mr Lehrmann, 27, has pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse with Ms Higgins without her consent and being reckless to her consent in the early hours of March 23, 2019, on the office couch of their boss – senator Linda Reynolds.

The court has been told that Mr Lehrmann was fired by Senator Reynolds’ office within days of the alleged rape because he had breached security.

Senator Reynolds on Monday appeared in the ACT Supreme Court, where she was asked about the moment Ms Higgins first disclosed the alleged rape that the staffer claimed happened in the office.

Senator Reynolds told the court that, in the first week of meetings after the alleged assault, she only understood there had been a “security breach” and Ms Higgins made no disclosure of alleged sexual assault.

Director of Public Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold SC, suggested Ms Reynolds knew there was a “sexual element” to the incident.

“I do not accept that,” Ms Reynolds replied.

Mr Drumgold then began pressing the WA senator about why she had texted Mr Lehrmann’s barrister, Steve Whybrow, as Ms Higgins gave evidence under cross-examination.

“Have you attempted to obtain the evidence of Ms Higgins in this trial?” Mr Drumgold asked.

Senator Reynolds said she had not – then asked for clarification.

The prosecutor put to Ms Reynolds that on October 6, just as Ms Higgins began her cross-examination, she asked Mr Whybrow for the “daily transcripts” to be sent to her lawyer.

The senator agreed she had asked for the transcripts at that time.

“Your lawyer had no interest in these transcripts, you had an interest in these transcripts,” Mr Drumgold said.

He told that court that one minute after asking Mr Whybrow for the transcripts, Senator Reynolds texted him again. “Also if you have texts between Brittany and Nikki they might be revealing,” Senator Reynolds agreed she had texted.

Senator Reynolds told the court she had not personally seen the conversations between Ms Higgins and another staffer, Nicole Hamer.

“You were alerting the defence lawyer two hours into the cross-examination of Brittany Higgins ... you were injecting yourself in trying to assist with his cross examination?” Mr Drumgold suggested.

Senator Reynolds said she’d never been through such a process saying “it seemed appropriate”.

The senator denied she was “politically invested” in the trial’s outcome.

Mr Drumgold also asked the senator why her partner, who lives in Perth, sat in the back of the court during Ms Higgins’ evidence.

Senator Reynolds told the court she had not spoken to her husband about the evidence.

“My lawyer has been very clear not to discuss it with me,” Senator Reynolds told the court.

Michaelia Cash and her top staffer have denied they knew about Brittany Higgins’ alleged rape allegation against Mr Lehrmann long before she went public, and agreed it would have been “political suicide” to try and cover it up.

Ms Higgins has told the court she divulged the alleged rape in meetings with her chief of staff that same day and then Senator Reynolds by the end of the week.

By the middle of 2019, Ms Higgins began working for then minister Cash as a media advisor, the court was told.

Senator Cash dialled into the ACT Supreme Court on Monday where she was asked about the moment she learned of the alleged rape.

Senator Cash told the court she became aware of the alleged sexual assault in early February, 2021, days after Ms Higgins resigned from her office.

Crown prosecutor Shane Drumgold pressed Senator Cash, suggesting she had “detailed conversations” about Ms Higgins’ allegations much earlier - as far back as October 2019.

“You were aware, fully aware, in October 2019 that Brittany Higgins had made an allegation she was sexually assaulted by Bruce Lehrmann on Senator Reynolds’ couch in early hours of 23 March 2019,” Mr Drumgold put to Senator Cash.

“I can’t accept that. I don’t accept that,” the senator replied.

Mr Drumgold suggested to the senator that it would have been “politically embarrassing” if the allegation was made public.

“I’m putting to you that you’re denying that because it would be politically embarrassing for you,” the prosecutor said.

“Absolutely not... I don’t know how it could be politically embarrassing,” Ms Cash told the court, questioning the line of questions.

Asked if she understood what “plausible deniability” was, the former Attorney-General responded: “I’m not quite sure what you’re referring to, you’d need to put it into context.”

Later, she agreed with Mr Lehramnn’s lawyer Steve Whybrow, who suggested it would have been “political suicide” for her to cover up an alleged assault.

“Hence my confusion with the previous line of questioning,” Senator Cash responded.

Ms Higgins has previously told the court she had several in-depth conversations with the then-minister about the incident.

But Senator Cash said it was her understanding the one conversation she had with Ms Higgins was in reference to a security breach, not an alleged rape.

“The first time I ever heard the word rape, was in questions from a journalist, Samantha Maiden, on the 12th of February 2021.”

Senator Cash’s chief of staff, Daniel Try, was the next witness called into the ACT Supreme Court on Monday.

He told the court Senator Reynolds called him directly and said she was sending around one of her staff to speak with Ms Higgins after the media request arrived.

“(Senator Reynolds) didn’t go into details, there’s not much i could remember. She said the incident wasn’t Brittany’s fault,” Mr Try told the court.

Mr Try sat in on part of the meeting between the Reynolds’ staffer and Ms Higgins but the only details he could glean was that it related to “some sort of a security issue”.

Mr Try told the court Ms Higgins confirmed the other staffer involved was Lehrmann, and he took her into Senator Cash’s office to give the senator a heads-up.

The chief of staff told the court he and Ms Cash offered Ms Higgins their support but the details, again, did not contain any allegations of sexual assaut.

Mr Drumgold suggested Mr Try knew, at that time, Ms Higgins was alleging a sexual assault.

“Minister Reynolds gave you all details about events of 23 March 2019 in her office,” Mr Drumgold said.

“Not true,” Mr Try replied.

“Your role was to protect Senator Cash from political fallout,” Mr Drumgold continued.

“That’s not true,” Mr Try said.

Mr Try said his only concern, in October 2019, was Ms Higgins’ welfare - not political fallout.

Coalition colleague Senator Reynolds is expected to appear before the court this week.

The trial was originally expected to run between four and six weeks.

But last week Mr Drumgold told the court he expected to close the Crown’s case on Tuesday.

It comes as the list of witnesses was slashed from over 50 to 32.

On Friday, Mr Lehrmann’s lawyer Steven Whybrow pressed Ms Higgins about inconsistencies in her account of the night in question during an emotionally charged cross-examination.

Singling out her alleged rapist for the first time in court, Ms Higgins addressed him with a pointed finger and told him “nothing was fine after what you did to me”.

Earlier that week, the jury heard Mr Lehrmann’s account for the first time, as they were played his police interview.

In it, he told police the incident “simply didn’t happen”.