Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds is involved in a high-stakes defamation trial with her former staffer Brittany Higgins, who intends to request a delay in the trial set for July. Reynolds is suing Higgins and her fiance for damages over social media posts that she claims falsely defamed her, including accusations of harassment. Higgins and Sharaz deny the claims and intend to defend their cases concurrently.
Reynolds’ lawyers plan to oppose the motion for a delay in the trial, fighting for it to proceed as scheduled. The senator is expected to argue that Higgins and Sharaz coordinated a plan to harass her with the help of journalist Lisa Wilkinson and Channel 10 producer Angus Llewellyn in preparation for an interview with The Project. Both parties are gearing up for a contentious legal battle as they prepare to present their cases in court.
The upcoming hearing will be the first since Federal Court justice Michael Lee found, by the civil standard, that Higgins had been raped by fellow staffer Bruce Lehrmann in Reynolds’ parliamentary office in 2019. Lehrmann has maintained his innocence throughout the legal proceedings, including a separate defamation case he brought against Network 10 and Wilkinson over the interview. Despite the ruling on the assault, Lee also determined that there was no political cover-up in the incident.
Following the court ruling on the assault allegations, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton claimed that Reynolds had been vindicated and suggested that Higgins and Sharaz should issue an apology. However, Reynolds has stated that she will proceed with her defamation lawsuit unless the pair accepts the findings that there was no cover-up in the case. With tensions running high and the trial approaching, both parties are preparing to present their arguments and evidence in what promises to be a dramatic and closely watched legal battle.
