Last week, as part of Senator Linda Reynolds’ defamation action against her former staffer Brittany Higgins, hundreds of texts were tendered between news.com.au political editor Samantha Maiden and David Sharaz, now Higgins’ husband. They detailed some of the discussions that would lead to one of the most consequential political stories of the past decade after Higgins went public with her allegations that she was raped by fellow Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann at Parliament House.
This tranche of texts is just the latest release of material across more than a dozen court cases and inquiries into the matter. Together they have collectively revealed reams of private correspondence, including more than 1,000 text messages offering unprecedented insight into how the media operates. In nine texts, here is the story behind the stories.
January 11, 2021: ‘She’s going to come out with a story, and it’s going to be tough and it’s also going to be big’
In January 2021, David Sharaz, a former journalist, texts news.com.au political editor Samantha Maiden, telling her Higgins is going to “come out with a story” that will be “big” and that Higgins has decided Maiden is “going to be the person she gives it to”.
The pair are in regular contact in the coming months as the story and its repercussions develop.
On January 29, just over two weeks before the story’s release, Sharaz asks, “Do you think this will make a splash or will it be one story and no follow up. Is it worth her doing this?” He adds, “Ultimately … she just wants it to not happen again”.
Maiden insists the story will have an impact. Later, after the story has broken, Sharaz complains that the Prime Minister’s Office media team “undermined a rape victim” and “got away with it”, which Maiden rejects (“we’ve had this discussion before but they didn’t get away with anything”). Sharaz also claims to “know for a fact [the government] outsourced bots” to attack him. Maiden remains sceptical.
Maiden also tells Sharaz to avoid giving the impression that he’s pushing Higgins to go public too early, or acting as her “agent”.
Sharaz replies: “I’m not her agent. I’m her partner. I’m in a weird space about leaving her alone and not letting her feel she’s gotta do it all. But I’ve never been in this situation before and I don’t want to fuck it up”.
January 20, 2021: ‘I have an explosive political story for Sunday Project’
In parallel to Sharaz’s texts with Maiden, Higgins and Sharaz are discussing the story with Channel Ten’s show The Project. Sharaz had emailed Project host Lisa Wilkinson with detailed allegations under the subject line: “everything you need to know”.
On January 20, Wilkinson texts producer Angus Llewellyn, then on holiday, that she has a story concerning an “extraordinary coverup involving Linda Reynolds, Michaelia Cash and the PMO”.
From January 26, Llewellyn starts exchanging texts with Sharaz. On January 28, the day before Sharaz’s exchange with Maiden around whether he ought to “step back”, Sharaz tells Llewellyn “on background” that Maiden was “trying to convince Britt to let her drop her story next week”.
February 15, 2021: ‘Any [gossip] on who the Canberra rape guy is?’
News.com.au breaks the story of Higgins’ allegations on Monday, February 15, 2021. The Project interview with Higgins airs that night. Neither identify Bruce Lehrmann.
Throughout the day, text messages circulate among Lehrmann and his colleagues as to who the accused could be. Former Liberal Party media adviser/”dirt unit” veteran John Macgowan texts Lehrmann asking if he has any gossip on “who the Canberra rape guy is”. Lehrmann says he does not and that “no one has approached me”.
As the night winds on, Lehrmann texts “They wouldn’t name would they?” and “Pretty slanderous” to Macgowan.
April 2021: ‘They know little detail. But, much better that they break it than News Limited’
In April — the same month Lehrmann is interviewed by police regarding the alleged assault — text messages are exchanged between Lisa Wilkinson’s husband Peter FitzSimons, Higgins and Sharaz regarding contact FitzSimons had received from a Nine reporter about the size of an advance Higgins was to receive for a memoir.
“They clearly have a source from one of the publishers that didn’t get over the line,” FitzSimons wrote. “They know little detail. But, much better that they break it than News Limited. It won’t have a negative spin.”
The frequency over the following years that Higgins’ texts, often with Wilkinson and FitzSimons, find their way into the media becomes a topic of great interest to those watching the trial.
Later, a picture of a screen that features Higgins’ personal correspondence is made public, on which a reflection can be seen that bears a striking resemblance to then producer at the Seven Network, Mark Llewellyn.
October 21, 2022: ‘Bruce wants to do one big exclusive sit down interview at the end of this’
In October 2022, Lehrmann and Macgowan meet with Taylor Auerbach, then a producer with Seven. Following the meeting, Auerbach texts Spotlight’s supervising producer Steve Jackson.
On October 23, Auerbach texts Jackson to say that he had “just been on the piss with Bruce Lerhmann” and “I’ve got the yarn”.
This is followed by a more detailed rundown that appears to be the text of an email that Auerbach has sent to Mark Llewellyn, saying “we’ve got the yarn if we can agree on terms I believe!” He adds that Lehrmann has had several approaches already, including “some print journo” who said, “‘I can’t offer you money but I can offer you integrity!'”. Auerbach says, “don’t worry, they weren’t impressed by this, and in any case I said what I needed to say”.
The next day Auerbach tells Jackson that “Sam Maiden just called me” about “trying to do a story about TV interest in [Lehrmann]” and the possibility of paying to interview him. “I just played dumb,” Auerbach says.
In November 2023, it was revealed that Seven paid Lehrmann’s rent for a year to help secure the interview. In early December, the Walkley nomination the interview received was revoked.
A few days after fielding the inquiries from Maiden, Auerbach texts Jackson again, saying Macgowan has asked to meet and asks if he can “buy a few rounds of alcohol on the card?”
“Yes. Within reason,” Jackson replies.
November, 2022: ‘Can you refund credit card and I give you cash’
Early on November 26, 2022, Taylor Auerbach emails his bosses and attempts to resign: “Last night, in a drunken daze, I put thousands of dollars of charges on a corporate credit card for nothing that had to do with work.”
His resignation is not accepted. Jackson texts Auerbach a screen capture of Google translate and the phrase “can you please cancel credit card charges from Friday night. I pay you cash instead” translated into Thai script.
After Auerbach sends Jackson a screen capture confirming that he has sent this phrase and a list of transactions to an unspecified number, Jackson texts “I reckon you might survive”.
In April 2024, Auerbach would tell the Federal Court that the texts concerned a two-day “bender”, during which he claimed to have spent $10,000 on Thai massages and over which he had tried to resign.
The credit charges were made without the knowledge or consent of Llewellyn, Jackson or the Seven Network.
January 5, 2023: “He’s on the warpath again”
On January 5, 2023, Auerbach texts Jackson: “He’s on the warpath again” and “This is fucked”. Asked for clarification, Auerbach texts “Let’s just say, it was no anomaly”.
July, 2023: ‘are you free for lunch on Friday?’
In October 2022, Bruce Lehrmann’s trial for the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins collapsed over juror misconduct, and prosecutors stated that pursuing a retrial would pose an “unacceptable risk” to Higgins’ health.
Following comments from then ACT director of public prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC that he had been pressured by police offers to not prosecute Lehrmann during the trial, there is a flurry of inquiries over the matter.
First an inquiry headed by former solicitor-general of Queensland Walter Sofronoff makes “several findings of misconduct” against Drumgold. In turn, Drumgold launches legal action, which yields yet more insight into the meshing of power and journalism with the release of Sofronoff’s extensive communication with The Australian’s Janet Albrechtsen.
Over the course of his inquiry into the handling of Higgins case, Sofronoff racked up 273 interactions with Albrechtsen including 51 phone calls — out of a total of 65 he made to all media — text messages, emails and a private lunch meeting in Brisbane.
This leads ACT Supreme Court Judge Stephen Kaye to conclude that Sofronoff could be reasonably seen to have had his findings influenced by Albrechtsen.
August 2024: ‘MESSAGE DELETED’
Linda Reynolds is now suing Brittany Higgins for defamation. Under questioning from Higgins’ lawyer, Reynolds concedes she had deleted text messages she had exchanged with Lehrmann’s barrister during the rape trial. She tells the court this was a matter of “cyber hygiene“.
The same day, Reynolds is asked why she had leaked confidential personal documents regarding Higgins to Janet Albrechtsen and only Albrechtsen. Reynolds said she chose Albrechtsen because she had “respect for her professionalism and her even-handedness”.
Correction: A previous version of this piece said that Lehrmann and Macgowan first met with Auerbach in October 2021. This has been corrected to reflect that the meeting took place in October 2022.
