Justice Michael Lee has found that the “inescapable conclusion” was that law student Bruce Lehrmann leaked confidential court documents obtained during his criminal trial, including Brittany Higgins’ private text messages, to Seven’s Spotlight program.
The leaking of the private contents of Ms Higgins’ phone, which she has previously described as “a violation”, has previously been referred to the Australian Federal Police and the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
But despite her complaints, to date no action has been taken in relation to the leaking of the material.
In his 326-page written judgment, Justice Lee finds that there is evidence to support his findings that, at least in one instance, it was Mr Lehrmann.
“In the absence of any other explanation, the inescapable conclusion is that Mr Lehrmann provided access to (Spotlight EP Mark) Llewellyn to take the relevant photographs, and thus wrongly provided him with access to the information contained in the FitzSimons messages,’’ Justice Lee said.
“His representations and evidence to the contrary were false to his knowledge on a serious matter, and this conclusion fortifies my assessment as to his general credit.”
Mr Lehrmann has denied leaking the material and is yet to make any statement in relation to the judgment.
What happens next, Justice Lee writes in his judgement, is a matter for others and the determination of the matter will not be decided b...
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