Updated Bruce Lehrmann Pt2 * ACT Bar clears former DPP head Shane Drumgold of misconduct

[Kurve]

Here is PART 1

Historical Rape Allegation Against Fmr AG Christian Porter
The Alexander Matters matters

Just a reminder, this is the crime board and we need to be aware that there will be victims of crime either watching this thread or engaging in here from time to time. A degree of respect in all discussions is expected.

LINK TO TIMELINE
CJS INQUIRY
FINAL REPORT – BOARD OF INQUIRY – CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
Joint media statement – Chief Minister and Attorney-General



FIONA BROWN - AFFIDAVIT

 

[BFew]

This 546 pages Court Exhibit was released this week with a collection of comms between Sofronoff and Albrechtsen and takes a few minutes to download.

EDIT: https://www.courts.act.gov.au/supreme/law-and-practice/online-court-files and a new url that works.

https://www.courts.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/2568116/Redacted-Exhibit-IAM2_Redacted.pdf

Nice one Hedley for reportedly introducing Sofronoff to Albrechtsen.

Texts to high-profile journalist about Bruce Lehrmann trial revealed

Janet Albrechtsen asked former judge Walter Sofronoff, KC, for a copy of potential adverse findings weeks before he delivered his report on Lehrmann’s prosecution.

www.smh.com.au

'The former judge who presided over an inquiry into former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann’s prosecution gave a draft of his report to a journalist at The Australian before it was delivered to the ACT government, and she texted back that she “loved the section … on presumption of innocence”.

A cache of documents released by the ACT Supreme Court this week reveal the extent of the communications between Walter Sofronoff, KC, and Janet Albrechtsen, a columnist at the News Corp masthead.
...
The documents confirm Sofronoff engaged directly with Albrechtsen repeatedly in the days before he delivered his report to the government.
...
In an email on July 28 last year, titled “Draft report as it currently stands”, Sofronoff sent a copy of the document to Albrechtsen at 10.47am. On July 30, he sent a draft of chapter one.

On July 30, Albrechtsen texted: “I loved the section towards the end of your report on presumption of innocence (my editor side coming in now – I’d put that up front – when I read it, I wished I had read it much earlier – it’s an important and clear exposition of the legal principle and the norm).”
...
The Australian’s national chief correspondent, Hedley Thomas, had introduced Sofronoff to Albrechtsen.
...

 

[jason_recliner]

This 546 pages Court Exhibit was released this week with a collection of comms between Sofronoff and Albrechtsen and takes a few minutes to download

https://www.courts.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/2568116/Redacted-Exhibit-IAM2.pdf

Nice one Hedley for reportedly introducing Sofronoff to Albrechtsen.

Texts to high-profile journalist about Bruce Lehrmann trial revealed

Janet Albrechtsen asked former judge Walter Sofronoff, KC, for a copy of potential adverse findings weeks before he delivered his report on Lehrmann’s prosecution.

www.smh.com.au

'The former judge who presided over an inquiry into former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann’s prosecution gave a draft of his report to a journalist at The Australian before it was delivered to the ACT government, and she texted back that she “loved the section … on presumption of innocence”.

Smart move by Sofronoff getting his report out to the media in case it was suppressed.

 

[BFew]

More yesterday on Hedley Thomas introducing Sofronoff to Albrechtsen.

‘I’ll send you the transcript’: emails and texts between head of Lehrmann inquiry and News Corp columnist revealed

Message chain shows Walter Sofronoff sent transcripts and ‘strictly confidential’ information to Janet Albrechtsen

www.theguardian.com

'The documents show Albrechtsen and Sofronoff were introduced by investigative reporter Hedley Thomas, a reporter at the Australian, in February last year.

“Janet Albrechtsen is a lawyer and a conservative columnist for The Oz for many years. A number of my left leaning friends find her very persuasive. In all of my experiences with her she’s been scrupulously straight and professional,” he wrote in an email.

“Janet has been doing much of the post-verdict reporting and commentary on the Higgins case, including breaking several recent and very interesting stories about complaints being levelled against the DPP Drumgold and his behaviour.

“I think it would be fair to speculate that Janet’s relationship with the defence team in the Higgins case would be much more rosy than with the DPP.”

Thomas also said in a text message that Albrechtsen was “happy to collate her writings for you and your inquiry”.

“Janet has done her homework and expressed great confidence in your appointment.”'

 

[Kurve]

More yesterday on Hedley Thomas introducing Sofronoff to Albrechtsen.

‘I’ll send you the transcript’: emails and texts between head of Lehrmann inquiry and News Corp columnist revealed

Message chain shows Walter Sofronoff sent transcripts and ‘strictly confidential’ information to Janet Albrechtsen

www.theguardian.com

'The documents show Albrechtsen and Sofronoff were introduced by investigative reporter Hedley Thomas, a reporter at the Australian, in February last year.

“Janet Albrechtsen is a lawyer and a conservative columnist for The Oz for many years. A number of my left leaning friends find her very persuasive. In all of my experiences with her she’s been scrupulously straight and professional,” he wrote in an email.

“Janet has been doing much of the post-verdict reporting and commentary on the Higgins case, including breaking several recent and very interesting stories about complaints being levelled against the DPP Drumgold and his behaviour.

“I think it would be fair to speculate that Janet’s relationship with the defence team in the Higgins case would be much more rosy than with the DPP.”

Thomas also said in a text message that Albrechtsen was “happy to collate her writings for you and your inquiry”.

“Janet has done her homework and expressed great confidence in your appointment.”'

Shane Drumgold will be paying a lot of attention to this.

It stinks.

 

[Festerz]

“Janet has done her homework and expressed great confidence in your appointment.”'

Those words 'great confidence' from a conservative political commentator in welcoming the appointment of a highly experienced justice to an 'independent' inquiry into the conduct of a criminal trial are as damning as they are unusual.

Albrechtsen expressing 'great confidence' in Wally Sofronoff achieving the right outcome on a subject matter she had and still has a deep personal and political commitment to, bordering on an obsession.

And didn't he deliver on that 'confidence' in spades - with the undeniable assistance and guidance from Ms Albrechtsen of course. And to think they almost got away with it.

IMHO if there was one clear case of a politically motivated tortuous conspiracy in this saga, the evidence from the ACT Judicial Board of Inquiry shows the cosy relationship between Sofronoff and Albrechtsen was surely it.

 

[Kurve]

Lucy Turnbull.

 

[Kurve]

Smart move by Sofronoff getting his report out to the media in case it was suppressed.

Really? Has Sofronoff said that's why he leaked the report?

 

[Festerz]

Interesting to read in the Guardian article that Albrechtsen sent a picture to Sofronoff of 'The Wolf' character from Tarantino's Pulp Fiction movie, saying that is who is being compared with.

For those who don't know, Winston Wolf as portrayed by Harvey Keitel, is the ultimate cleaning service contractor for criminals who knows how to get things done and dispose of the bodies. Seems apt.

 

[Kurve]

Remember when Higgins said she thought the govt might have wiped her phone? If they could tap it they could probably wipe it.

 

[Festerz]

Remember when Higgins said she thought the govt might have wiped her phone? If they could tap it they could probably wipe it.

View attachment 2108555View attachment 2108557View attachment 2108558

What am I looking at here? Whose phone is that. Who’s messaging who. What’s the relevance?

And more importantly what is the source and has it been independently verified?

 

[Kurve]

What am I looking at here? Whose phone is that. Who’s messaging who. What’s the relevance?

And more importantly what is the source and has it been independently verified?

You'll find something here:

 

[jason_recliner]

Really? Has Sofronoff said that's why he leaked the report?

Irrelevant. Critical the report was published.

 

[BFew]

Remember when Higgins said she thought the govt might have wiped her phone? If they could tap it they could probably wipe it.

View attachment 2108555View attachment 2108557View attachment 2108558

Are those photos or txt from those photos in one of the three "IAM" court doc exhibits at the below link?

I already posted the link to the IAM2 one in here yesterday which was directly linked in the associated SMH article I quoted.

Online Court Files - ACT Supreme Court

www.courts.act.gov.au

Online File Established: Drumgold v Board of Inquiry – Criminal Justice System & ors – SC 347/23​

 

[Kurve]

Irrelevant. Critical the report was published.

It's not irrelevant, that Sofronoff leaked the report prior to the government even seeing it, is the basis of why he's facing an investigation for corruption.

 

[Festerz]

Irrelevant. Critical the report was published.

You post almost exclusively in the crime section of the Big Footy forum.

Your posts are understandably often full of vitriol and anger at the way in which offenders - murderers, rapists, child abusers and the like - are often allowed to escape proper justice for their crimes because of the mistakes and seeming incompetence of some of those charged with protecting and serving our community as bureaucrats, police officers and justices.

And yet here we have an experienced and previously well respected senior judge engaged by the ACT Government to undertake an independent analysis of the conduct of an aborted criminal trial who is found to not just have leaked his findings to selected media outlets but deliberately and secretly collaborating with a non-journalist political commentator with a biased partisan agenda against a rape victim in the preparation of his report.

Sofronoff was rightly condemned by an independent judicial inquiry that has thrown doubt over the integrity of his his ACT taxpayer-funded report. As a result of those findings, Sofronoff is now being independently investigated "on reasonable grounds that his conduct in the course of that Inquiry may have constituted corruption".

Looking beyond the implications for the ACT criminal justice system he was engaged by the ACT Government to investigate, can't you see what the actions of Justice Sofronoff does to the public perception of integrity of our justice system in general? And the threat it poses to all those who face our courts as victims or accused and who rely on an independent justice system whose conduct is free from political and outside media tainting and influences?

(Edited to remove personal references.)

 

[jason_recliner]

Dumbgold is a joke, Dumbgold's prosecution was worse than a joke, found to have “deliberately advanced a false claim of legal professional privilege and misled the court” to deny key documents to the defence, with Dumbgold having “egregiously abused his authority and betrayed the trust of his young staff member”. Of the five grounds of his appeal, he dropped two, and the overwhelming majority of findings were against him on the other grounds. How many times has he acted this way but NOT been the subject of intense scrutiny? For reasons of which I am unaware he has not been held accountable for this other than resigning from an extremely well paid job (especially well paid in light of him having previously been a postal worker), but that's by the by.

I and many others do not believe that the Government will always act in the interests of the people and the State; will not always do the 'right' thing. Sofronoff believed that McCallum and Rattenbury were defending Dumbgold, and had formed the view that once no longer Chair of the enquiry he would be unable to release the report (if it was suppressed by the ACT). Hence, his decision to release it to the media at that time was understandable and in the public interest. Of course the ACT Government wishes he hadn't but that is not my concern nor the concern of the majority of Australians, I suspect, who appreciate underperforming, inept, potentially corrupt public officials being held to account.

 

[Thats Ambitious]

I and many others do not believe that the Government will always act in the interests of the people and the State; will not always do the 'right' thing. Sofronoff believed that McCallum and Rattenbury were defending Dumbgold, and had formed the view that once no longer Chair of the enquiry he would be unable to release the report (if it was suppressed by the ACT). Hence, his decision to release it to the media at that time was understandable and in the public interest. Of course the ACT Government wishes he hadn't but that is not my concern nor the concern of the majority of Australians, I suspect, who appreciate underperforming, inept, potentially corrupt public officials being held to account.

Can you show where it is that Sofronoff stated he thought he wouldnt be able to release the report and that is why he leaked it?

 

[jason_recliner]

Can you show where it is that Sofronoff stated he thought he wouldnt be able to release the report and that is why he leaked it?

Not right now, got to get some work done, but he was unable to provide it on 10/8 IIRC to somebody at the ABC - 4 Corners? - as he was no longer Chair. He didn't say that's why he released it, I am saying I'm glad he released it when he was able to.

Why do you think he released it to Albrechtsen and the ABC?

 

[Festerz]

Of course the ACT Government wishes he hadn't but that is not my concern nor the concern of the majority of Australians, I suspect, who appreciate underperforming, inept, potentially corrupt public officials being held to account.

Yet again the unintended irony of your posts is comedy gold.

Because here you are ranting about the 'majority of Australians' (=you and Janet Albrechtsen in this case) holding to account 'potentially corrupt public officials' while excusing the actions of the one highly paid public official - Justice Wally Sofronoff - who is in fact currently under independent investigation by the ACT Independent Integrity Commission for (wait for it):

"on reasonable grounds that his conduct may have constituted corruption".

https://www.integrity.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/2450419/Media-Update-13-May-2024.pdf

Dumbgold

 

[jason_recliner]

Dumbgold

Right? It's so perfect!

 

[Kurve]

Dumbgold's prosecution was worse than a joke, found to have “deliberately advanced a false claim of legal professional privilege and misled the court” to deny key documents to the defence, with Dumbgold having “egregiously abused his authority and betrayed the trust of his young staff member”.

The Moller Report wasn't a key document, it was an internal opinion, probably bias in of itself and shouldn't have been snuck in to the brief unless elements in the AFP intention was to white-ant the prosecution imo.

 

[Festerz]

The National Anti Corruption Commission stated they won’t bother with the illegal Robodebt scheme which cost lives and trauma for some of our most vulnerable citizens.

But have not yet decided if they will look at Liberal Senator Reynolds desire to have the Federal Government Brittany Higgins compensation payout investigated.

Furthermore, the Albanese government has agreed for taxpayer funds to be provided to pay Linda Reynolds’ year long legal costs in seeking that referral.

Government to pay Linda Reynolds’ costs for referral of Brittany Higgins settlement to federal corruption watchdog

Document tabled in parliament reveals attorney general approved WA Liberal senator’s application for legal assistance

www.theguardian.com

 

[campbell]

The National Anti Corruption Commission stated they won’t bother with the illegal Robodebt scheme which cost lives and trauma for some of our most vulnerable citizens.

But have not yet decided if they will look at Liberal Senator Reynolds desire to have the Federal Government Brittany Higgins compensation payout investigated.

Furthermore, the Albanese government has agreed for taxpayer funds to be provided to pay Linda Reynolds’ year long legal costs in seeking that referral.

Government to pay Linda Reynolds’ costs for referral of Brittany Higgins settlement to federal corruption watchdog

Document tabled in parliament reveals attorney general approved WA Liberal senator’s application for legal assistance

www.theguardian.com

Disgusting

 

[BFew]

File details - applications for file

https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/courts-law/major-update-in-bruce-lehrmanns-appeal-against-defamation-loss-to-ten-lisa-wilkinson-revealed/news-story/252bbe708edb4033bdaec520214a217c

'...
now appealing “the whole” of Justice Michael Lee’s judgment
...
he has now launched an appeal to the Full Court of the Federal Court.
...
Mr Lehrmann’s appeal is now focusing on the defence of justification, according to an update to the Federal Court file.

He now says the primary judge “erred in upholding the defence of justification” and in “determining the respondent had established the defence of justification”.

Mr Lehrmann also claims Justice Lee was wrong to say that had he won, he would only have been awarded $20,000.'
...
In his notice of appeal filed with the court, Mr Lehrmann claims he was denied procedural fairness and challenged Justice Lee’s findings.

He has also claimed that Justice Lee made findings that were neither advanced by Network 10 and Ms Wilkinson, nor put to him in cross examination.'

 

[FIGJAM]

Interesting to read in the Guardian article that Albrechtsen sent a picture to Sofronoff of 'The Wolf' character from Tarantino's Pulp Fiction movie, saying that is who is being compared with.

View attachment 2108423

I was a more perturbed when Albrechtsen sent this recently to me and jason_recliner: