The Federal Court defamation case involving Bruce Lehrmann is based on allegations made by Taylor Auerbach regarding an incident in November 2022 involving Thai masseuses booked by Auerbach for himself and Lehrmann. Auerbach mentioned that Lehrmann provided him with more than 2300 pages of text messages between Brittany Higgins and her ex-boyfriend during a golfing trip in Tasmania in December 2022. Auerbach also claimed that Lehrmann sought compensation for expenses incurred during the evening in question by issuing an invoice to Seven for “per diems”. Spotlight’s executive producer, Mark Llewellyn, allegedly gave verbal approval for the payment.
Additionally, Auerbach suggested that funds paid by Lehrmann for illicit drugs and prostitutes during the evening at the Meriton and a subsequent evening at a brothel in Surry Hills were reimbursed by Seven through “per diems” via an invoice. Auerbach also admitted to emailing Seven offering his resignation after a previous incident in November 2022 when he used the company credit card to pay for the Thai masseuses. However, Seven did not accept his resignation, and Auerbach claimed he was offered a promotion and a pay rise after the incident.
Furthermore, Auerbach detailed an alleged meeting with John Macgowan, Lehrmann’s media minder, in Canberra during Lehrmann’s criminal trial in 2022 to discuss a potential Spotlight interview. Lehrmann was charged with sexual assault after Higgins accused him of raping her in March 2019. The criminal trial was aborted in October 2022 due to juror misconduct and did not proceed further due to concerns about Higgins’ mental health. Auerbach mentioned that Macgowan expressed a preference for Spotlight over other outlets and discussed the compensation for Lehrmann’s legal fees.
Auerbach admitted in court that he disliked Steve Jackson and blamed him partially for not having his contract renewed at Seven last year. He also mentioned that he had been backgrounding journalists against Jackson recently. The court heard that NSW Police withdrew Jackson’s appointment as the new chief of its media unit. Auerbach also mentioned an incident where he offered to pay cash to clear transactions from Seven’s credit card statement, following instructions from Jackson to keep the incident involving the Thai masseuses quiet.
Ten Network has alleged that Lehrmann leaked Higgins’ text messages, which were handed over to the Australian Federal Police as part of an investigation into her claim of sexual assault by Lehrmann in Parliament House in March 2019. Ten claims that this conduct amounts to contempt of court and abuse of process. Ten also alleges that Lehrmann received undisclosed benefits related to his participation in interviews on the Seven Network’s 7News Spotlight program in 2023 and that these should have been disclosed prior to trial. Lehrmann had initiated defamation proceedings against Ten and former co-host of The Project, Lisa Wilkinson, over a February 2021 interview with Higgins where she accused a colleague of rape, whom Lehrmann later sued for defamation. Seven Network issued a statement that the behavior described in Auerbach’s evidence does not reflect the culture of Seven and that the matter is still before the courts.
