Former Seven Network producer Taylor Auerbach has given evidence about bombshell allegations he made about the network's attempts to woo former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann.
The former producer of Seven's Spotlight program appeared before the Federal Court this afternoon as the key witness in additional evidence in Network Ten's defence of a defamation claim brought by Mr Lehrmann.
He was questioned about a night in Sydney when he dined with Mr Lehrmann at a restaurant to secure an exclusive interview for the program.
"I had been appointed to be his babysitter, minder, looking after him," Mr Auerbach told the court.
He said it was for the purpose of "building up a rapport, trying to build trust, some kind of relationship".
Mr Auerbach said Mr Lehrmann had bought cocaine and later ordered sex workers to the Meriton hotel in Sydney's CBD, which Mr Auerbach said had been paid for by Seven to accommodate Mr Lehrmann.
Mr Auerbach told the court during the night he texted his boss, former executive producer Steve Jackson, that "Bruce was on the warpath again".
"I think I used the words 'this is f***ed'," he told the court.
Mr Auerbach said Mr Lehrmann paid for the drugs and sex workers but later requested to be reimbursed.
Under cross-examination in the witness box, Mr Auerbach conceded that he never saw a record of any payment being received.
In a statement issued after the court hearing on Thursday, a spokesman for the Seven Network said it was "appalled" by the allegations made in recent days.
"Seven did not reimburse Bruce Lehrmann for expenditure that has allegedly been used to pay for illegal drugs or prostitutes, and has never done so," the statement said.
'That night in Canberra'
Mr Auerbach told the court he was "taken aback" when, amid the discussion of drugs and sex workers, Mr Lehrmann said he would agree to a Spotlight interview on the condition he was not asked about "that night in Canberra".
He said he told Mr Lehrmann that Spotlight would have to ask him "hard questions" as "that was the whole point" of the interview.
The court also heard Mr Auerbach wrote a letter resigning from Seven the day after the boozy night.
"That morning was the worst morning of my life," he said.
He said his resignation was not accepted and he was instead offered a promotion and a pay rise.
Former producer denies trying to 'destroy' those connected to Seven
Mr Auerbach's departure from Seven formed the basis of questions by Mr Lehrmann's lawyers, who alleged Mr Auerbach was only giving evidence to "get back" at Seven and its executives, including Mr Jackson.
Mr Auerbach agreed that he had threatened to appear at Seven's annual general meeting and make claims that would "embarrass" the network, but denied suggestions that he was willing to "say anything, no matter how false, to damage people who are employed by Channel Seven".
Mr Auerbach admitted he "particularly hated" Mr Jackson, with whom he had been friends for many years and conceded to backgrounding journalists about Mr Jackson in recent weeks.
The court was played a slow-motion video Mr Auerbach had uploaded to his Instagram showing him destroying Mr Jackson's golf clubs.
'I was not proud of that story'
Mr Auerbach was also questioned about claims that he was instructed by Mr Jackson and an external lawyer to delete communications he had with Mr Lehrmann.
"The allegation you make against the lawyer …. is incredibly serious," barrister Matthew Richardson said.
Mr Richardson suggested to Mr Auerbach that the lawyer "never so much as hinted" he should "do anything of the kind".
"That's completely incorrect," Mr Auerbach replied.
He also said he had contacted The Walkley Foundation about his "concerns" that Spotlight's interview with Mr Lehrmann had been nominated for an award.
"I was not proud of that story," Mr Auerbach told the court.
In a statement, Seven said it had "at no point asked anyone to delete or destroy any evidence".
"Contrary to the claims reported in the media, Seven complied with all of its obligations in relation to producing documents in response to subpoenas issued to it," a Seven spokesman said.
"Seven has acted appropriately at all times."
Former producer's recollection of events questioned
Lawyers for Mr Lehrmann also challenged Mr Auerbach's recollection of events in late 2022, when producers were beginning to woo Mr Lehrmann.
It was put to Mr Auerbach that he had been consuming up to 20 standard drinks a day.
It was during this period that Mr Auerbach claimed Mr Lehrmann provided Seven with material from his criminal case, including an AFP statement of facts and more than 2,000 text messages between Brittany Higgins and her former partner.
Mr Lehrmann has previously denied providing Seven with anything other than his interview.
If Ten's arguments are accepted, Justice Lee may also have to decide whether Mr Lehrmann's conduct was an abuse of process.
Ten aiming to use new evidence to trap Bruce Lehrmann in a falsehood
Mr Lehrmann is suing Ten and Lisa Wilkinson over an interview with Ms Higgins on Ten's The Project, after his criminal trial for her alleged rape was abandoned with no findings against him.
Justice Michael Lee was due to hand down his judgment today but the case was reopened after Ten won its bid to allow Mr Auerbach to give evidence.
Network Ten will attempt to argue that the evidence raises questions about Mr Lehrmann's credibility.
Mr Auerbach is set to continue giving evidence in the Federal Court on Friday.
Justice Lee has indicated his judgment is likely to be further delayed as a result of the volume of new evidence.
Earlier, Seven Network was questioned about why it had only produced one page of communications between network employees and Mr Lehrmann relating to his appearance on the Spotlight program last year.
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2024-04-04 04:11:07Z
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