The ACT Director of Public Prosecutions slammed the conduct of a former federal cabinet minister in his explosive letter to the territory's top cop, accusing her of involvement in "a number of disturbing events".
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Former defence minister Linda Reynolds was at the centre of controversy when she gave evidence in October during the trial of Bruce Lehrmann, who denies raping Brittany Higgins at Parliament House.
Senator Reynolds employed the pair when the sexual assault was alleged to have occurred in March 2019, while serving in the Morrison government.
On one of the most dramatic days of Mr Lehrmann's trial, which was ultimately aborted because of juror misconduct, Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC gave Senator Reynolds a grilling.
He accused her of trying to "coach" defence barrister Steven Whybrow SC's cross-examination of Ms Higgins by pointing him towards "revealing" texts between the alleged victim and another former staffer.
Mr Drumgold also revealed Senator Reynolds had texted Mr Whybrow to ask for transcripts of the trial before giving her own evidence, while her partner had "found himself in the back of the court".
While on the witness stand in the ACT Supreme Court, Senator Reynolds rejected the suggestion she had been trying to assist Mr Whybrow.
She also denied her partner had been regularly updating her on proceedings, and insisted she had not known it was inappropriate to seek transcripts prior to taking the stand herself.
Notwithstanding her denials, Mr Drumgold labelled her actions "disturbing" in a letter he sent chief police officer Neil Gaughan days after Mr Lehrmann's trial collapsed.
He described Senator Reynolds as "giving evidence directly contradictory to her chief of staff, then directly soliciting transcripts of other evidence to tailor her evidence direct from the defence barrister".
The trial heard Mr Whybrow had not given Senator Reynolds the transcripts she had requested, and had informed her it would be inappropriate for him to do so.
Mr Drumgold did not stop there, telling Deputy Commissioner Gaughan the Liberal senator had "further engaged in direct coaching of the defence cross-examination of the complainant by directing them to evidence she should not have access to".
"[She] further organised for her partner to attend the court for the entire trial, with him regularly seen conferencing with the defence team during the course of the entire trial," he wrote.
As reported last week, Mr Drumgold's principal complaints in the November 1 letter revolved around his assertion police had inappropriately interfered in the case and aligned themselves with Mr Lehrmann.
The prosecutor alleged investigators had pressured him not to prosecute Mr Lehrmann and left Ms Higgins with the impression she was being "bullied" into withdrawing her sexual assault complaint.
Mr Drumgold ultimately dropped the case on December 2, having received what he described as "compelling" expert evidence about the impact a retrial would have on Ms Higgins' mental health.
In the letter to Deputy Commissioner Gaughan, Mr Drumgold outlined his view that there should be "a public inquiry into both political and police conduct in this matter".
Deputy Commissioner Gaughan has not publicly commented on the letter, which has resulted in the police handling of the matter being referred to the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity.
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However, he has emailed his staff to say he would welcome a public inquiry into "all aspects of the matter", stressing that Mr Drumgold's claims about individual police members remain "untested".
Australian Federal Police Association president Alex Caruana and ACT Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee have also spoken in support of an inquiry into the case, with the latter saying unanswered questions could result in "a devastating and irreversible erosion of public confidence" in the legal system.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury and the director-general of the Justice and Community Satiety Directorate, Richard Glenn, had briefed the ACT cabinet about the issue on Monday afternoon.
"The cabinet discussed how a broad ranging, independent inquiry could help to identify the roles played by the parties involved in the trial and whether these actions were appropriate," Mr Barr said.
"These discussions also noted that an ACLEI investigation is currently under way.
"The [ACT] government will provide further updates in the coming days."
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