A top detective has admitted he should not have liked a social media comment that was supportive of Bruce Lehrmann, but he denies it shows he was biased.
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Detective Superintendent Scott Moller returned to the witness stand for a third straight day on Wednesday as an inquiry into authorities' handling of Mr Lehrmann's case continued.
Mr Lehrmann stood trial in the ACT Supreme Court last year, having denied allegations he raped fellow former Liberal Party staffer Brittany Higgins at Parliament House in 2019.
After juror misconduct caused a mistrial, the charge levelled at Mr Lehrmann was discontinued.
Shortly after the discontinuance was announced, it was revealed Detective Superintendent Moller had reservations about charging Mr Lehrmann and police had clashed with the Director of Public Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold SC, about the issue.
The Australian then published an article titled "Push for DPP to resign over Lehrmann trial", which was shared on LinkedIn by a user who tagged Detective Superintendent Moller.
In a comment on that post, another LinkedIn user said Mr Lehrmann was "innocent until proven otherwise".
"I was deeply shocked by some of the prosecutors [sic] reported words," the comment also said.
"This young man deserves the justice of our court and reporting system.
"He should not be negatively labelled for the rest of his life."
Mr Drumgold's barrister, Mark Tedeschi KC, challenged Detective Superintendent Moller on Wednesday about whether it was appropriate for him to have liked that comment as a senior police officer.
Detective Superintendent Moller said he did not remember doing so, but he accepted he had and expressed regret.
"Yes. I've liked it as Scott Moller, yes," he told the inquiry.
"In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have liked the comment."
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Mr Tedeschi suggested the like showed Detective Superintendent Moller had "a bias in favour of Mr Lehrmann".
The detective said he did not agree with this.
"I believe what it shows is I liked a comment," he told the inquiry.
"I agreed with the comment."
Mr Tedeschi's cross-examination of Detective Superintendent Moller continues.
