The prosecutor in the rape trial of former Coalition staffer Bruce Lehrmann says he “entirely misread” an exchange he had with high-profile journalist Lisa Wilkinson ahead of a controversial speech she made at the Logie awards that resulted in the trial being delayed.
Asked by the inquiry’s head, former Queensland Supreme Court judge Walter Sofronoff, whether “you thought she was bragging about being nominated”.Lehrmann, who briefly worked with Higgins under former Coalition minister Linda Reynolds, stood trial last year on a count of sexual intercourse without consent, a charge to which he pleaded not guilty and has always maintained his innocence.
Drumgold allegedly told Wilkinson “we are not speech editors” after she read the first line of the address she intended to give at the Logies.“We have no power to approve or prohibit any public comment, that is the role of the court,” Drumgold was quoted as saying in the transcribed notes, in which he says, however, that further publicity could give the defence grounds to lodge a stay application.
Drumgold said he decided against making a public statement regarding Wilkinson because he didn’t want to feed the “media storm”. The inquiry also heard that Drumgold told Saunders that the “narrative may change” to one of political interference, an accusation that later surfaced in an email
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