Andrew Bolt: Lisa Reynolds’ chief of staff Fiona Brown could have Lisa Wilkinson on toast

Bruce Lehrmann’s case appears to be going badly enough for Lisa Wilkinson and the TV journalist could be facing a lot more trouble.

Lisa Wilkinson could be facing a lot more trouble than just Bruce Lehrmann, who’s suing her and Channel 10 for defamation over their crusade to damn him as a rapist.

Lehrmann’s case is going badly enough for Wilkinson’s qualified privilege defence, if the answers to the interventions of the judge, Michael Lee, are any clue.

But Wilkinson didn’t just allegedly defame Lehrmann in her 2021 report on The Project, during which former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins claimed to have been raped in the Parliament House office of then Defence Minister Linda Reynolds.

Her report also savaged Reynolds’ chief of staff, Fiona Brown, painting her as part of a cover-up.

Lisa Wilkinson is being sued by Bruce Lehrmann. Picture: Christian Gilles

Brown has already sent Channel 10 a concerns notice – the first step in suing for defamation – and after what Justice Lee heard last week you’d think she’d reckon she might just have Wilkinson on toast.

Wilkinson had opened her Project report with bombshell allegations: “Tonight, claims of rape, roadblocks for police investigation and a young woman forced to choose between her career and the pursuit of justice.”

So there was not only a rape, supposedly, but a cover-up – and Wilkinson, channelling Higgins, seemed to blame Brown most of all.

Higgins claimed in the interview she’d told Brown about the supposed rape when Brown called her in three days later to explain why she’d been in the Minister’s office after midnight, naked and asleep.

Bruce Lehrmann’s case appears to be going badly for Wilkinson. Picture: David Swift

Higgins also claimed Brown treated her allegation as a “political problem” and offered to pay Higgins to stay away during the election campaign.

“Fiona was … the only person I could talk to and it was dismissed,” claimed Higgins. “It always came back to sort of being a me issue and if you can’t deal with it then you can leave … I realised my job was on the line.”

Wilkinson had summed up: “The alleged assault left her feeling she had to choose between her career and seeking justice.”

This was a devastating attack on Brown’s integrity. She later told The Australian she’d tried to drown herself in the sea, but was saved by a surfer.

Leave aside the fact that Brown last year told the Sofronoff inquiry into the case that Higgins had actually denied to her in their first two meetings after the incident that she’d been raped, and said only at the second meeting that she’d woken up with Lehrmann on top of her. Nor had she offered any payment.

Brittany Higgins claimed to have been raped in the Parliament House office of Defence Minister Linda Reynolds. Picture: Nikki Short

When Wilkinson and her producer, Angus Llewelyn, were cross-examined in the Federal Court last week, neither appeared to cite anything unequivocal Brown had said to make Higgins think she had to shut up.

So where was their evidence of any cover-up?

Why hadn’t Wilkinson instead noted that Brown offered to let Higgins bring her father to a meeting with Reynolds to discuss what had happened?

Because viewers had a “short attention span”, replied Wilkinson.

Nor had the Project mentioned Higgins had actually sent Brown a text saying “I’ve valued your support and advice throughout this period”, adding: “You’ve been absolutely incredible.”

Justice Lee seemed particularly puzzled by one other fact: how could Brown be accused of covering up this supposed rape when she’d arranged for Higgins to go to the Australian Federal Police office in Parliament House the very day Higgins said she’d found Lehrmann on top of her?

Wilkinson’s response was bizarre.

Lee: “Do you think it’s consistent with a systemic cover-up of a rape allegation for someone to escort someone to an AFP office?”

Wilkinson: “I think if Ms Brown had been properly trained in dealing with a survivor of sexual assault, the internal AFP would not have been a place to take them.”

The judge had an equally pointed question for producer Llewellyn.

Lee: “At the time the program was broadcast you had, to use your words, no proof of that allegation that she was being told that if she proceeded with police charges, that is pursued the rape allegation, that she’d lose her job? …”

Llewellyn “I didn’t have proof.”

Wilkinson dealt with that problem with another bizarre assertion: she hadn’t accused Brown of putting pressure on Higgins to stay quiet. She’d meant Higgins put pressure on herself.

Really? Wilkinson even denied she’d made Brown seem “cold and unfeeling” in the broadcast, and said she had shown her instead being “nice” to Higgins after the supposed rape by giving her a brochure for employee assistance and telling her to take off the rest of the day.

I laughed at that. I suspect Wilkinson may want to take off the rest of the decade from work after this is all over.