Lehrmann pleaded not guilty to the alleged rape of his colleague Brittany Higgins in Parliament House after a night out with colleagues in March 2019. The trial was abandoned in October 2022 due to juror misconduct and Lehrmann maintains his innocence.
The ACT government launched an inquiry into the case after Drumgold accused police of trying to undermine the prosecution. However,in his report Sofronoff made several findings against Drumgold,which the latter is seeking to overturn.
On the first day of hearings into the challenge,O’Gorman said journalist forThe AustralianHedley Thomas introduced Albrechtsen and Sofronoff in February 2023,telling Sofronoff that Albrechtsen would be “happy to collate her writings for you and your inquiry”.
“It’s those words that are really disturbing in our submission,” O’Gorman said.
He told the court the “only real inference” that could be taken was that Albrechtsen was happy to provide her reports that were adverse to Drumgold and positive for Lehrmann.
“I think it would be fair to speculate that Janet’s relationship with the defence team in the[Lehrmann] case would be much more rosy than the DPP,” O’Gorman quoted Thomas as saying.
The court heard the pair communicated extensively throughout the inquiry,including one text in which Sofronoff said it was “truly a pleasure to engage” and another in which Albrechtsen had sent him Lehrmann’s contact details.
O’Gorman said Sofronoff had also sent a message from his private email address,which was one of four he allegedly communicated with her through,that contained the draft findings of his report.
“No other journalist was given drafts of Mr Sofronoff’s report,let alone a version that shows tracked changes,” he said. “Other journalists asked for such favours and weren’t provided[it].”
Loading
Albrechtsen was one of two journalists Sofronoff leaked his finished report to on the same day he handed it to the commissioning ACT government.
Sofronoff had told Chief Minister Andrew Barr in a letter he had provided to report on an embargoed basis so the journalists would be “in a position[to] swiftly and promptly … write and broadcast stories that have as their foundation a true appreciation of the result of the work of the commission.”
The barrister told the court there were 13 “communications” between the pair during the time Drumgold was in the witness box,and Albrechtsen on multiple occasions throughout the probe messaged to suggest lines of inquiry,including as to why Drumgold dropped the charges against Lehrmann.
O’Gorman said that another element “the fair-minded observer could find interesting” was Sofronoff’s scheduled appearance at a Queensland media event on August 25,2023 hosted by Thomas,which Sofronoff later cancelled.
Sofronoff’s report included a conclusion that Drumgold “preyed” on the inexperience of a junior solicitor whom he asked to draft an affidavit supporting a wrongful legal privilege claim relating to documents in the trial.
O’Gorman said Sofronoff sent a text message to Albrechtsen on May 6,2023,two days before the beginning of public hearings and Drumgold’s oral evidence,that said:“What a thing to do to two young professionals under your mentorship.”
“That particular entry really summarises what our case is about,” O’Gorman said. “It shows that Mr Sofronoff had poisoned his mind in relation to Mr Drumgold,at least in relation to this particular point before Mr D[rumgold] hadn’t even got into the witness box.”
The hearing continues.