Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann has hit the ABC with a defamation lawsuit, continuing his attack against media firms who reported on rape claims made by Brittany Higgins.
On Wednesday, Mr Lehrmann filed the case in the Federal Court against the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, almost two months after he hit Channel Ten and News Life Media, the firm behind News.com.au, with similar lawsuits.
Ms Higgins accused Mr Lehrmann of raping her inside the Parliament House office of then minister Linda Reynolds, who they both worked for in March 2019.
He denies the allegation, maintaining the pair never had any sexual interaction.
A criminal trial brought against Mr Lehrmann in the ACT Supreme Court was derailed in October because of juror misconduct.
In December, the prosecutor dropped the charges due to impacts a second trial would have on Ms Higgins’ mental health.
The law student’s cases against Ten and News relate to reports in February 2021 on The Project and News.com.au regarding the rape allegations.
Former host of The Project Lisa Wilkinson and News.com.au political editor Samantha Maiden are both named in the lawsuits.
The media firms and Ms Wilkinson are trying to shut down the cases, arguing they were filed outside of a 12-month window typically required for defamation suits.
Mr Lehrmann argues he could not have filed the cases sooner because of the criminal charges, legal advice and for mental health reasons.
Sydney law firm Mark O’Brien Legal is representing him in all three defamation proceedings.
The ABC did not comment on Wednesday.
-AAP
