The Australian federal police is being investigated to determine whether it attempted to pervert the course of justice in the handling of the alleged rape of former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins by her then colleague Bruce Lehrmann.
The Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI), the watchdog responsible for probing corruption in federal agencies including the AFP, is also investigating the “potential leaking of documents” related to the case by AFP members to the media.
In an email seen by Guardian Australia, ACLEI’s executive director of operations, Peter Ratcliffe, confirms the agency is investigating whether “AFP members attempted to pervert the course of justice by pressuring Ms Brittany Higgins not to proceed with the matter”.
The agency is also investigating whether “AFP members attempted to pervert the course of justice by bypassing administrative processes that enabled protected information contained in a brief of evidence to be served on the defence at the time the summons and charge were served”.
This is a reference to the alleged unauthorised disclosure of material to the defence team, including a videotaped record of Higgins’s interview with police and her private psychological counselling notes.
Guardian Australia has previously reported that the ACT director of public prosecutions, Shane Drumgold SC, made a complaint about potentially legally protected material being unlawfully distributed.
In the email, Ratcliffe confirmed the “potential leaking of documents and photos by AFP members to the media” is also being formally investigated by a separate team.
It follows a complaint made by Higgins’s lawyer, Leon Zwier.
Lehrmann vehemently maintains his innocence. He pleaded not guilty to one charge of sexual intercourse without consent, denying that any sexual activity had occurred.
His trial was abandoned in October last year after a juror was found to have brought outside evidence into the jury room. Prosecutors decided not to proceed with a retrial as it would pose an “unacceptable risk” to Higgins’s health.
Lehrmann is now suing a number of media outlets for defamation for publishing Higgins’s claims.
It comes after Guardian Australia revealed in December that Drumgold complained that police officers engaged in “a very clear campaign to pressure” him not to prosecute Lehrmann.
This prompted the ACT government to launch an inquiry into the investigation of the case, led by former judge Walter Sofronoff KC.
ACLEI will be folded into the national anti-corruption commission when it is created later this year.
