It was a criminal trial unlike any other in recent memory.

Former Liberal party staffer Brittany Higgins alleged that she was raped by colleague Bruce Lehrmann inside Parliament House. Lehrmann strongly denied the allegation and pleaded not guilty after he was charged.

But since that trial was abandoned last year, due to juror misconduct, the matter has become even more intensely political.

Politicians have been lobbing accusations at each other, over who knew what about the allegation and when.

Today, political columnist Jacqueline Maley on what happens when a rape trial becomes entangled in the world of politics.

Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.