00:00It's been a long week for W.A. Senator Linda Reynolds.
00:05Are you looking forward to finishing up?
00:09Her lawyers have spent the week seeking to prove Brittany Higgins defamed her on social media,
00:14suggesting the Senator mishandled her rape allegation.
00:17Senator Reynolds has faced a barrage of questions from Ms Higgins' lawyer
00:20about what she knew in the days following the alleged rape.
00:24As part of her truth defence, Ms Higgins claims Senator Reynolds arranged a meeting in her parliamentary office
00:29when she knew that's where the alleged rape took place,
00:32which had the potential to be seriously triggering for Ms Higgins.
00:35Under cross-examination, Senator Reynolds acknowledged she knew Ms Higgins had been found undressed in her ministerial suite,
00:42checked on by two security officers, was intoxicated and had memory loss,
00:47and remembered Mr Lerman had been on top of her,
00:50and that Mr Lerman had left Parliament that night in a hurried manner.
00:53But the Senator denied all of these factors taken together suggested Ms Higgins had been raped.
00:58She told the court that there were a wide range of options drunk young people can get up to late at night.
01:04She's also denied saying to Ms Higgins in this meeting that
01:07this is something women go through and I'm sorry this happened to you.
01:11The evidence caps off a week of intense scrutiny,
01:14with the Senator at times having to take a break due to concerns over her health.
01:18Something she maintains was damaged by Ms Higgins' portrayal of the whole affair.
01:23Next week, the trial will hear from Senator Reynolds' husband, parents and friends.
01:27Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison is also expected to testify,
01:31along with other former and current MPs.
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