Harvey Weinstein sues brother for fraud
Harvey Weinstein is suing his brother and former Weinstein Company co-founder Bob Weinstein for fraud, along with ex-company executives David Glasser and Irwin Reiter.
unbranded – Entertainment
Harvey Weinstein appeared in court Wednesday for a pretrial conference ahead of a New York state court case that will rehash some of the defining accusations of the #MeToo era.
The disgraced Hollywood boss is headed to a retrial this month in legal proceedings that will largely mimic his original 2020 rape and assault state trial, with one additional charge based on an allegation from a woman who was not part of the first trial.
The retrial will cover two charges of assault and one of rape stemming from allegations by three different women: two who allege Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex in 2006 and one who alleges he raped her in 2013.
A New York appeals court overturned Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction last April, finding that the judge in his case erred by admitting “irrelevant” testimony from women whose allegations were not a part of the case. He was granted a retrial and pleaded not guilty in September.
In court Wednesday, prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office revealed Weinstein’s trial is expected to last four to six weeks, according to ABC News. Judge Curtis Farber said jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday, and the process may last up to five days.
Per ABC, Weinstein sat at the defense table in a wheelchair. The movie mogul, who has been hospitalized for various health issues amid his jail time, reportedly told a judge in January that he didn’t “know how much longer (he) can hold on.”
Weinstein will not be required to testify in his defense case, ABC News and The Associated Press report.
Judge Farber ruled that if he were to take the stand, Weinstein can be asked by prosecutors about his 2022 California rape conviction but not “the nature of the crimes or underlying facts.”
Harvey Weinstein attorneys, prosecutors argue over potential witness, trial start date
The legal redo’s kickoff, set for April 15, was challenged in court Wednesday due to a dispute over witness selection. In the months leading up to his retrial, Weinstein, who continues to serve a 16-year prison sentence stemming from his California rape conviction, urged a judge in New York to start his trial sooner amid health concerns.
According to the AP, Weinstein’s attorneys and prosecutors argued over the trial participation of an assistant district attorney. The unnamed lawyer allegedly took notes during a 2020 interview with the new Weinstein accuser, who was not part of the film producer’s first trial.
Weinstein’s legal team said they might call the assistant district attorney as a witness, per AP, as the defense said the accuser’s previous grand jury testimony about Weinstein using physical force on her differed from details shared in the 2020 interview.
Prosecutors said they would request to delay the trial by 60 days if an agreement on the notes dispute can’t be reached, AP reports.
Requesting a speedier retrial in late January, Weinstein said he was “holding on because I want justice for myself and because I want this to be over with,” according to The Associated Press and ABC News. Weinstein’s established medical problems include chronic myeloid leukemia (bone marrow cancer), diabetes, coronary artery disease, obstructive sleep apnea, thyroid issues, obesity, high blood pressure and chronic back pain.
Judge allows rape accuser to use the word ‘force’ in testimony on Harvey Weinstein assault
Judge Farber, who previously ruled that an accuser of Weinstein’s was prohibited from using the word “force” in court testimony, said Wednesday that the woman can now use the language during Weinstein’s retrial, according to The Associated Press.
Per AP, Farber said a review of case law led him to the conclusion that it would be “unreasonable to put limits on how she describes what she says happened.”
In Weinstein’s 2020 sex crimes trial, former actress Jessica Mann testified he raped her in his New York hotel room in 2013. Her accusations led to the movie mogul being convicted of rape in the third degree, a verdict that was later overturned by a New York appeals court in April 2024.
Attorneys for Weinstein argued on Wednesday that letting the woman testify that he used physical force during their encounter at a Manhattan hotel could result in a disclosure to the jury about Weinstein’s acquittal of a first-degree rape charge in the 2020 trial, per AP.
In response, Farber said Weinstein’s legal team can challenge the woman’s account of Weinstein’s alleged rape on cross examination, adding that a jury instruction could also be introduced to clear up any confusion, AP reports.
Following his original conviction in the 2020 trial, Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison. He is being held in New York until the retrial is complete.
Weinstein’s cases in New York and California, which helped galvanize the #MeToo movement and spurred a reckoning in the entertainment industry, were part of a larger wave of allegations against the movie mogul.
Contributing: Taijuan Moorman, Brendan Morrow, KiMi Robinson, Patrick Ryan and Maria Puente, USA TODAY
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