The Bruce Lehrmann defamation case reopened on Thursday, with television producer Taylor Auerbach giving evidence.
Here are the key takeaways from his blockbuster afternoon in the witness box .
Auerbach told the court Lehrmann bought cocaine and paid for sex workers on night out
In the most explosive moment of his testimony, Taylor Auerbach told the court about a night out with Bruce Lehrmann in Sydney in January 2023, as he said he was “building rapport” with Lehrmann in the hope of securing an interview with him for Channel Seven’s Spotlight television program.
“Mr Lehrmann had, over dinner, purchased a bag of cocaine while we were dining at Franca, and when we got upstairs to the room, he pulled that out and started to put it on a plate and then started talking to me about a prospective Spotlight story and his desire to order prostitutes to the Meriton that night and began Googling of series of websites to try and make that happen,” Auerbach claimed.
Auerbach alleged that Lehrmann paid for the night but asked for, and received, reimbursement from Channel Seven.
Auerbach claims he was offered pay rise and promotion after being rebuked by Seven for putting Thai massage parlour expense on Channel Seven credit card
Auerbach was quizzed extensively about charges to a Thai massage parlour, which he put on a Seven corporate credit card in November 2022.
Auerbach sent an email resignation to Seven on Saturday 26 November at 7.39am, the day after he reportedly billed Channel Seven more than $10,000 for the services of Thai masseuses.
Matthew Richardson SC, representing Lehrmann, said that Auerbach’s payment to the masseuses was personal rather than work-related and he had been “dishonest” in making the personal charge.
Auerbach insisted the expense was to do with work and said that not only had Channel Seven not accepted his resignation, but in the week after they had rebuked him for billing the company card for masseuses, he was offered a promotion and a pay rise.
Auerbach ‘hates’ former colleague Steve Jackson
A key part of Richardson’s cross-examination appeared to be attempting to establish animus from Auerbach towards former colleagues at Channel Seven and the network as a whole.
“I want to suggest you are willing to say anything, no matter how false, to damage people that are employed by Channel Seven or connected with Channel Seven,” Richardson said. Auerbach denied this.
But when asked whether he hated Steve Jackson, his former friend and colleague, Auerbach replied simply: “Yes.”
On the stand on Thursday, Auerbach admitted he had “in part” briefed other journalists with stories about Jackson.
Auerbach admits to sending naked photos of woman to journalists without her consent
Auerbach admitted sending naked photographs of a woman to journalists.
But he disagreed that the woman was vulnerable, and said he did not know it was a criminal act to send photographs of that nature without her consent.
Richardson asked whether Auerbach’s sending of the photographs was related to the termination of his employment at Sky News.
“Now did your employers at Sky become aware that this had happened, that is, that you had sent these photographs of this woman to various media organisations?”
Auerbach said Sky News told him they were terminating him for “trust and confidence issues”.
Auerbach claims he let Lehrmann into Seven offices to photocopy confidential court documents
Auerbach alleged that Lehrmann supplied Channel Seven with documents from the criminal proceedings against him, to assist them with the production of their Spotlight episode.
He told the court these documents included a Cellebrite report – a police record of the text messages sent between Brittany Higgins and her former boyfriend Ben Dillaway – parts of which Auerbach alleges were photographed by Spotlight executive producer Mark Llewellyn.
Auerbach alleged that photographs were taken of the Cellebrite report on a screen and that Llewellyn’s reflection, specifically his “glasses” and “bald head”, could be seen in the reflection of the screen.
Auerbach told the court one evening he let Lehrmann into the Channel Seven offices in central Sydney, used his staff pass to log into the photocopier and left Lehrmann there to photocopy a large number of legal documents.
Richardson, acting for Lehrmann, said: “I want to submit to you Mr Lehrmann did not supply the AFP statement of facts to you.”
“I disagree,” Auerbach said. “The only person who provided me documents was Mr Lehrmann.”
