It is a rare federal court trial that attracts tens of thousands of viewers on YouTube, especially one linked to a case that is so long-running and complex. This one includes allegations of more than A$10,000 (£5,000) paid out on cocaine, fine dining, rounds of golf, massages and sex workers in exchange for a television interview; the leaking of an alleged rape victim's text messages to national media; and internecine feuds within Australia's blokey TV media.
It began when Brittany Higgins, a junior Liberal party employee, alleged that her colleague Bruce Lehrmann had raped her in Parliament House - the seat of the federal government in Canberra - after a night out in 2019. Higgins gave a TV interview on Australia's Channel 10 and her allegation became significant for the broader #MeToo movement in the country.
Lehrmann was charged but has denied the allegation. His criminal trial was delayed, first by a public speech given by one of the journalists involved in the Higgins interview, and then by juror misconduct.
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