Former Seven producer claims bid to force Lehrmann judge to testify is ‘plainly logical’

July 3, 2026 — 5:00am

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In this week’s On Background, the years of courtroom fallout from the Bruce Lehrmann saga continue, some big new hires ahead of Politico’s Australian launch, Karl Stefanovic’s next interview, and a strike averted at AAP.

The Bruce Lehrmann saga is proving to have an exceptionally long tail.

It’s been over two years since Federal Court Justice Michael Lee dismissed the former Liberal staffer’s defamation claim against Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson, finding on the balance of probabilities that Lehrmann had raped his then-colleague Brittany Higgins in a ministerial suite.

Lehrmann lost his final bid to overturn that judgment (despite his denials of wrongdoing, and no criminal findings against him) in April. But the supporting characters who appeared on the fringes of that marathon case are still involved in endless legal dramas of their own.

Lehrmann invoiced Seven for ‘bender’ with cocaine and sex workers, court told

Right now, those dramas centre on Taylor Auerbach, the former Seven producer whose bombshell evidence during the Lehrmann trial included claims that the network had paid for the former Liberal staffer’s cocaine and sex workers during a bid to secure an exclusive tell-all interview. Seven always denied that and insisted it “acted appropriately at all times”.

Nonetheless, the fallout from Auerbach’s court performance was devastating for Seven. The network’s Spotlight program was overhauled, with executive producer Mark Llewellyn out. Within weeks, chief executive James Warburton had brought forward his departure. Then the ABC’s Four Corners went to work on the network.

Last year, Auerbach sued the network for defamation, alleging that various statements provided to the media by Seven representatives blaming him for paying for Lehrmann’s cocaine and sex workers defamed him and breached non-disparagement clauses.

In response, Seven filed a cross-claim, accusing Auerbach of breaching contractual........

© The Sydney Morning Herald