Bruce Lehrmann and his former media manager John Macgowan have been targeted by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) over a “lunatic conspiracy theory” about the alleged leaking of top-secret documents.
Daily Mail Australia has learned that the former Liberal Party staffer’s temporary home was raided in June.
The NACC is investigating allegations that Lehrmann stole documents related to Australia’s (now halted) submarine deal with France between March and April 2019, around the same time he is accused of raping Brittany Higgins.
He is accused of passing the top-secret documents to Mr Macgowan so he could sell them.
Zali Burrow, Lehrmann’s attorney, said: “The submarine espionage theory appears to be another attempt at character assassination of Bruce.
‘The raid ultimately ended with a fun night out with the officers and Bruce.
‘The NACC bought a round of pizzas while they sat by the fireplace and watched the State of Origin.’
The news comes after Macgowan claimed that around 20 NACC officers raided his girlfriend’s home in Earlwood, in Sydney’s inner city, in June.
The homes of Bruce Lehrmann (right) and his former media adviser John Macgowan (left) have been searched by the National Anti-Corruption Commission
The NACC is investigating allegations that Mr Lehrmann (pictured) stole documents relating to Australia’s failed submarine deal with France
The team would consist of a sniffer dog, two NSW Police officers to secure the house and an Australian Federal Police officer.
Mr Macgowan believes the “conspiracy” over Mr Lehrmann’s theft of the documents arose from a joke he made during an interview, which he did not realise was being recorded.
He said that during the raid “documents, phones, everything they could get their hands on” was seized.
“The only thing they didn’t raid was my snake enclosure,” Mr Macgowan said news.com.au.
According to Mr Macgowan, officers used sniffer dogs to find the documents and even searched his girlfriend’s underwear drawer.
Mr Macgowan believes the ‘conspiracy’ over the theft of the submarine documents by Mr Lehrmann arose from a joke he made during an interview
Mr Macgowan (pictured with Mr Lehrmann) said officers used ‘paper’ sniffer dogs in an attempt to find the documents
He now wants the NACC to return his three mobile phones and laptop, which were seized after a voluntary interrogation.
“You have to communicate with people about when the investigation is done. I’m just sitting here thinking, ‘When’s the next raid?’” he said.
“I volunteered for an interview. There is no truth to it. It was a made-up story, promoted by the conspiracy theorists on Twitter.”
The search warrant for Mr Macgowan’s home stated that it was based on ‘reasonable grounds to believe that they will provide evidence of the alleged offence.’
The National Anti-Corruption Watchdog also seized communications between Mr Macgowan and News.com.au in January 2023, when he gave the newspaper a copy of the Moller report.
The Moller Report is a document related to the investigation into the alleged rape of Ms Higgins.
It was originally created for internal police purposes, to help decide whether to pursue charges.