Lehrmann faces jobless, homeless, broke future
The judge said it best: Having escaped the lion’s den, Bruce Lehrmann made the mistake of coming back for his hat. In court yesterday, his reputation was mauled.
The loss in the civil defamation case he initiated, and which put him into the dock, after a criminal trial for rape had been aborted, leaves him broke, unemployed, seemingly homeless, rumoured to be deeply in debt, his reputation shredded.
Perhaps one of the few sure things ahead for Lehrmann is another court date.
On June 17, 2024 he will face a committal hearing to decide whether or not he will face trial on charges of raping a woman twice in Toowoomba, in October 2021. Lehrmann was charged with the two rapes in January 2023.
His lawyers have indicated he intends to plead not guilty.
It remains to be seen if his booking to speak at a “Restoring the Presumption of Innocence” conference in Sydney goes ahead.
Lehrmann also needs somewhere to live: Channel 7’s deal to pay his rent for a year ended over Easter, forcing him out of his $2000-a-week northern beaches pad.
Last week a stint in a mate’s spare room in a $4.1 million luxury North Sydney home ended after several days partying, cranky neighbours, bad karaoke and an ever-present media scrum, when a fed-up landlord gave him his marching orders.
On Sunday there were reports he’d couch-surfed his way to Sydney’s eastern suburbs in the home of the widow of a former judge.
Before that fateful night in Parliament House, Lehrmann earned about $200,000 a year. Aside from a stab working in public relations, he hasn’t worked since, and is studying law.
He also faces possible further court action: a threat of defamation proceedings from Taylor Auerbach, after Lehrmann said Auerbach’s claims of cocaine benders and Thai massages were untrue.
Auerbach alleged in court that Lehrmann gave Seven thousands of pages of confidential documents – including text messages between Higgins and a former boyfriend – from an “e-brief” for his criminal trial, but which were not tendered in court.
The judge didn’t believe Lehrmann when he said he hadn’t shared documents with Seven.
If that’s the case, and it can be proven, Lehrmann could face contempt of court charges, because it may be a breach of the implied Harman undertaking, which is a way courts ensure that sensitive information during legal proceedings isn’t used inappropriately outside the proceedings.
Lehrmann had told the court he did not give any documents to Seven.
If it’s found he lied under oath, there’s also a possible perjury charge.
He says he has lost most of his mates from that time – including former Liberal Party media adviser John Macgowan, who was providing informal media advice “as a friend” for the criminal trial and as Spotlight negotiations were conducted.
The mistrial cost Lehrmann an estimated $300,000. He did receive cash when other defamation actions were settled for what’s variously reported at between $230,000 and $450,000. His legal costs this time are an estimated $3 million.