Former Liberal Party “dirt unit” strategist John Macgowan is among the three friends Bruce Lehrmann was in regular contact with on the day Brittany Higgins’ explosive rape allegations surfaced two years ago, he has confirmed to Crikey.
Sources have also told Crikey that another of the friends named in the series of text messages sent and received by Lehrmann on February 15 2021 — as published by the Federal Court last Friday — is Malcolm Turnbull’s nephew Harry Hughes, a former Liberal staffer who is also the grandson of prominent barrister and former attorney-general of Australia Tom Hughes KC.
According to the messages, Lehrmann told Macgowan in the hours following Higgins’ interview with journalist Lisa Wilkinson on The Project that he “needs bags” and would like to “get lit”.
After Macgowan responds, telling Lehrmann that he had given Hughes “cracka’s number” and to “try chico”, Lehrmann replies: “Harry [sic] paying apparently as he’s staying here … Lol so let’s get lit.”
Macgowan didn’t speak to the accuracy or otherwise of the content of these messages when Crikey sought comment, but did confirm the identities behind them.
“It’s very nice of you to contact me,” he said. “It’s more than [other news outlets] have done.”
Well known in New South Wales political circles as a skilled and charismatic political tactician, Macgowan is these days a freelance political adviser who runs a corporate intelligence consultancy.
As a member of the Liberal Party’s dirt unit four years ago, he was behind the devastating election leak to The Daily Telegraph concerning then NSW Labor leader Michael Daley’s claims about “Asians with PhDs” taking young people’s jobs.
He also played a role in the downfall of disgraced former Liberal MP Garry Edwards, telling the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in 2014 that Edwards had received an illegal donation from banned property donor Jeff McCloy.
Later in 2019, Macgowan was named in Parliament as the former political staffer potentially responsible for leaking the details of ordinary motorists and their offences to the media in an attempt to smear Daley over his driving record.
And in recent weeks, the colourful raconteur’s Twitter musings have given rise to the Macquarie Street “height-gate” saga, centred on whether current NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns had deliberately tried to inflate his height in campaign photos.
The formal media response eventually elicited from Minns’ office prompted Macgowan to send his “thoughts and prayers” to the hapless Labor staffer tasked with responding to the weighty controversy: “They’re the real hero,” he tweeted.
Though Macgowan frequently flanked Lehrmann in and out of court throughout the latter’s trial for rape last year, he told Crikey he only ever advised Lehrmann on media strategy in an informal sense and “as a friend”.
“I was heavily involved during the trial,” he said. “But I never received payment or anything. And not anymore — Bruce’s legal team is handling that side of things now.”
This appears to correspond with some of the evidence Lehrmann gave on Thursday in the Federal Court when cross-examined by lawyers for Network Ten, News Corp and journalists Lisa Wilkinson and Samantha Maiden, whom Lehrmann is suing for defamation.
The defamation proceedings largely turn on whether the media outlets’ interviews with Higgins, published and broadcast on February 15 2021, defamed him by implying that he raped Higgins at Parliament House in 2019.
A preliminary issue, however, is whether Lehrmann ought to be granted leave to file the proceedings out of time, given his failure to abide by the usual 12-month limitation period, which he claims was in part driven by legal advice he says he received by his lawyer at the time, Warwick Korn.
The issue was ventilated last week, with the media outlets pointing to the series of text messages as evidence Lehrmann had, contrary to his claims, received defamation advice and was accordingly cognisant of his obligation to sue within time.
As published, the messages reveal both Macgowan and Hughes individually texted Lehrmann on the morning Higgins’ allegations became public, asking — respectively — whether he had information “on who this Canberra rape guy is” and “[do you] know this chick [Higgins]?”.
“The yarn says ‘rising star’ so that rules out our mates but who else?” Macgowan’s message said, to which Lehrmann replied: “No idea mate in the slightest. I haven’t been approached.”
When Macgowan then messaged Lehrmann that Higgins was expected to appear on The Project that evening, Lehrmann says “They wouldn’t name would they?” and “Pretty slanderous”.
According to the messages, Lehrmann was again in contact with Macgowan and Hughes mid-afternoon, around three hours later, organising a criminal lawyer.
“I have spoken to John [Macgowan],” said Hughes in a message to Lehrmann. “A very close friend of mine is a specialist in these matters, [Warwick] Korn.”
“I trust him with my life, and he has gotten me out of numerous fuck ups. He’s also well known to the family.”
Lehrmann replied: “Heading to him now mate, he’s cleared the afternoon for me.” Then: “Appreciate it mate, I’ll need heaps of support.”
A number of the messages discuss the possibility of defamation action, including one where Lehrmann tells his friend Tahlia Robertson, who then worked for conservative government advisory firm Barton Deakin, that he had retained two lawyers, one criminal lawyer (Korn) and another for defamation.
On Thursday, Lehrmann told the court he fabricated the part about having consulted a defamation lawyer, saying he lied to Robertson because he was trying to “put on a brave face”.
He also denied Robertson had recommended any defamation lawyers to him, but was unable to explain why she would tell him “I bet your lawyer is thanking me now”.
The messages also reveal Lehrmann asked Robertson on the evening in question whether she had “any gear?”. She responded: “No I am at home”, adding that “you guys need to keep it clean. Enough!!!”
Both Hughes and Robertson were sought for comment but neither responded.
In August 2021, Lehrmann was named in the media after being charged with Higgins’ alleged rape.
The matter proceeded to trial but was aborted following juror misconduct and later abandoned altogether due to prosecuter’s concerns about Higgins’ mental health.
Lehrmann has always maintained his innocence.
Correction: a previous version of this article stated that Tom Hughes was the NSW attorney-general. The story has been updated to reflect that he was in fact the attorney-general of Australia.
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