The former lawyer for Bruce Lehrmann says he tried to get the ACT's chief prosecutor to prevent Brittany Higgins from giving a speech at the National Press Club about sexual assault.
The lawyer, John Korn, provided a statement to the ACT board of inquiry that is examining whether criminal justice agencies met their responsibilities in the prosecution of Mr Lehrmann.
Mr Lehrmann was accused of raping Ms Higgins in Parliament House in 2019, where they both worked as Liberal Party staffers.
His trial was abandoned late last year due to a juror's misconduct. He has maintained his innocence and there have been no findings against him.
In his statement, Mr Korn recounted a conversation with ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold, before Ms Higgins addressed the press club on February 9 last year.
Mr Korn said he made a record of the conversation soon after it happened.
He said he asked Mr Drumgold whether the Office of the DPP had considered asking Ms Higgins not to give the speech.
Mr Drumgold replied: "No, why would we do that?"
Mr Korn said he feared Ms Higgins's speech would be prejudicial, because she was speaking as a "survivor of sexual assault" while her rape allegation was still before the court.
"My client [Mr Lehrmann] denies that any sexual intercourse ever took place," he said.
Mr Drumgold replied that he did not share that view of the speech, which led to what Mr Korn described as his "somewhat inappropriate" response.
"Mr Director, I don't give a f*** how you see it," Mr Korn said.
"Every right-minded person in Australia, including me, would see it that way and she should not speak on that podium from that perspective."
He repeated his request that the DPP advise Ms Higgins not to speak, but Mr Drumgold again refused.
"She has been appropriately warned not to give any details of the offence," the prosecutor said in response.
Mr Lehrmann changed his legal team before his criminal trial began last year.
He is now suing the ABC for broadcasting Ms Higgins's speech to the press club.
He is also suing other media outlets and journalists for their interviews with Ms Higgins, in which she described her alleged rape.
Mr Drumgold is the board of inquiry's first witness and has faced three days of questioning this week.
The prosecutor alleged that ACT detectives tried to pressure him into not prosecuting Mr Lehrmann.
Yesterday, he also told the inquiry he suspected federal politicians might have tried to interfere with the police investigation.
Mr Drumgold is expected to be cross-examined from today.
