Senator Anne Ruston says colleague Senator Linda Reynolds was ‘brought to her knees’ after allegations

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Senator Anne Ruston says colleague Senator Linda Reynolds was ‘brought to her knees’ after allegations

Senator Anne Ruston has recalled how Senator Linda Reynolds was “brought to her knees” after weeks of sustained attacks from the media and in parliament in the wake of a ***** allegation.

Senator Ruston told the WA Supreme Court how the storm that erupted over allegations Senator Reynolds had mishandled the alleged ***** of Brittany Higgins left her friend unable to do her job or sleep.

She was giving evidence in Senator Reynolds’ defamation trial on Tuesday, and said how it was horrifying to see the event unfold because it was so far from her true character.

Camera IconSenator Anne Ruston gave evidence in senator Linda Reynolds’ defamation trial on Tuesday recalling how it was horrifying to see Senator Reynolds’ attacked by the media and in parliament because it was so far from her true character. NewsWire / Gary Ramage Credit: News Corp Australia

Senator Reynolds is suing Ms Higgins and her husband David Sharaz over a number of social media posts the pair made in 2022 and 2023.

The posts were critical of Senator Reynolds’ handling of Ms Higgins’ allegation she was ****** in Parliament House in 2019 by her then-colleague Bruce Lehrmann.

The former political staffer was later charged with ***** and faced trial in 2022, but the trial was aborted due to juror misconduct.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconSenator Linda Reynolds is suing Brittany Higgins and her husband David Sharaz for defamation in the WA Supreme Court. Credit: Supplied

The charge was ultimately dropped and Mr Lehrmann continues to maintain his innocence.

Mr Lehrmann lost a subsequent civil defamation case in April this year when the Federal Court determined, on the balance of probabilities, that he had ****** Ms Higgins at Parliament House.

On Tuesday, former Senator Marise Payne also gave evidence telling the WA Supreme Court how she saw Senator Reynolds shaking and holding a desk tightly after intense questioning in the senate over the ***** allegation.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconFormer foreign affairs minister Marise Payne told the WA Supreme Court how senator Linda Reynolds was shaking and holding the desk tightly after intense question in the senate about allegations she handled Ms Higgins ***** claim. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia

Ms Payne said she observed how her colleague had tried to respond to questions in the most appropriate way, but it was deeply concerning how distressed she became.

She said Senator Reynolds was under an enormous amount of pressure from other senators in the Senate Chamber.

“A level of pressure I had rarely seen before or since,” she said in court.

“There is no question the chamber is meant to be a place of debate and contest, but it was a significant amount of pressure.”

The trial continues Wednesday and will hear evidence from News Corp journalist Samantha Maiden, who broke Ms Higgins’ story in February, 2021.

Former *********** Federal Police assistant commissioner Leanne Close is also likely to be called by the defence on Thursday.

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