More Fallout From the Lehrmann Case: Reynolds Sues Prosecutor, ACT for Defamation

Reynold’s action centres on a letter written by Drumgold to the chief of the AFP that was released to the media.

Australia's former Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds arrives for a media conference in the press gallery at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Dec. 7, 2020. Sam Mooy/Getty Images

With Bruce Lehrmann still in the middle of his defamation case against Channel Ten, News Corp. Australia, and Lisa Wilkinson, secondary players in the saga are also busy issuing writs.

The latest is a defamation case against the ACT government and former Chief Prosecutor Shane Drumgold, brought by Senator Linda Reynolds.

Mr. Lehrmann was accused of raping fellow Liberal Party staffer Brittany Higgins in Senator Reynold’s office, in a criminal case that was aborted last year due to juror misconduct.

A subsequent retrial was eventually dropped by Mr. Drumgold in December 2022, saying it was “no longer in the public interest to pursue a prosecution at the risk of the complainant’s life.”

Mr. Lehrmann has always denied the allegation.

Ms Higgins has subsequently been compelled to testify about her version of the events at the hearing of Mr. Lehrmann’s defamation action against the media.

Senator Reynolds’ action centres on a letter written by Mr Drumgold (pdf) to the chief of the Australian Federal Police on Nov. 1, 2022, in which he described her conduct during the criminal trial as “disturbing.”

She is seeking damages, including aggravated damages, and an injunction preventing the parties from publishing defamatory material about her. She also wants an order that the government foot the costs of the action.

Her claim against the ACT government centres on its decision to release the letter to the media. Extracts from it were subsequently published by The Guardian newspaper six weeks later, after the newspaper made a Freedom of Information request.

A Web of Legal Action

The latest writ is the fourth defamation action in the WA Supreme Court brought by the former defence minister related to the Lehrmann case, including actions against Ms. Higgins herself and her partner David Sharaz.

The senator has accused Ms. Higgins of posting defamatory material on two occasions on her Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) accounts. Mr. Sharaz is being sued over Twitter posts he wrote and a Facebook comment in 2022.

That case has been referred to mediation, which will take place in Perth over two days next May. If that fails, it will move to trial.

The ACT government launched an inquiry into the handling of the criminal trial after a public dispute between the former Director of Public Prosecutions Mr. Drumgold, who led the prosecution, and police, whom he accused of trying to undermine proceedings.

Inquiry chair, former judge Walter Sofronoff KC, found he lied to the Supreme Court in the lead-up to the trial and had improperly questioned Senator Reynolds on the stand, among other findings.

Mr. Drumgold subsequently resigned after the report was handed to the media by Mr. Sofronoff—which earned the inquiry head a rebuke from the government.

Mr. Drumgold has since launched legal action to overturn the findings and to stop the territory government from taking any action against him based on the report.

His lawyers claim some of Mr. Sofronoff’s findings were legally unreasonable, some were out of the inquiry’s jurisdiction, and that he was not given a fair hearing in relation to others.