Harvey Weinsteins rape conviction overturned in New York

Manhattan prosecutors on Wednesday signaled that they might seek to indict Harvey Weinstein on new charges, saying they were vetting allegations from people who have accused him of sexual assault in recent years as they prepared to retry him after his 2020 sex crimes conviction was overturned.

Prosecutors did not say how many accusers they were interviewing or provide details of their allegations but said they were reviewing which of the accusations fell within the statute of limitations.

At the hearing on Wednesday in Criminal Court in Manhattan, Mr. Weinstein, 72, entered in a wheelchair, dressed in a dark suit and white shirt, holding a large tan book under his left arm.

It was the second hearing since Mr. Weinstein’s conviction was overturned last month. In a 4-to-3 decision, the New York Court of Appeals agreed with Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers that the trial judge who presided over his 2020 case had erred by allowing prosecutors to call several accusers as witnesses, even though their allegations had not led to charges.

Mr. Weinstein, a former Hollywood producer who was convicted of sex crimes against two women at that trial, had been serving a 23-year sentence. At a hearing earlier this month, Manhattan prosecutors said they planned to retry him.

On Wednesday, Justice Curtis Farber, who is presiding over the case now, said if prosecutors convene a grand jury to seek an indictment on new charges, the court and Mr. Weinstein’s legal team must be given notice.

Mr. Weinstein’s lawyer in New York, Arthur Aidala, was sitting next to him at the defense table on Wednesday. Last week, in a letter filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, prosecutors accused Mr. Aidala of making public statements that were intended to intimidate and to attack the “credibility and character” of witnesses.

Mr. Aidala has publicly accused one of the 2020 case’s witnesses, Miriam Haley, of lying to the jury at trial and said that he would diligently prepare to cross-examine her at a new trial if she “dares to come and show her face here,” according to the letter.

In court on Wednesday, Nicole Blumberg, an assistant district attorney, said that prosecutors are concerned that Mr. Aidala’s statements could intimidate accusers — some of whom were not ready to come forward in 2020, but may be ready now.

Mr. Aidala said he apologized if “I offended the court in any way.” However, he defended his public statements, saying that he was standing up for his client who he said had been “beat” up in the media.

“I made some statements about a witness that testified in the last case that are accurate,” he told Justice Farber, adding: “It’s our position that lies were told in the last trial. I didn’t say anything to intimidate anybody. I just say, ‘Look, here’s the truth.’”

Ms. Haley, a former TV production assistant, said at a news conference shortly after Mr. Weinstein’s conviction was overturned that she would consider testifying again.

“I definitely don’t actually want to go through that again, but for the sake of keeping going and doing the right thing and because it is what happened, I would consider it,” she said.

In 2020, Mr. Weinstein was convicted of a criminal sexual act stemming from Ms. Haley’s accusation that he forced oral sex on her in his Manhattan apartment in July 2006.
He was also convicted of raping Jessica Mann, an aspiring actress, in a New York hotel room in 2013.

Mr. Aidala has said that his team would object to any plans from prosecutors to call Ms. Mann at a retrial because they believe Mr. Weinstein has already served enough time to account for the sentence in her case.

Before setting the next hearing date, Justice Farber asked that both sides refrain from “pandering to the press” in the lead up to the new trial.

The case will not be tried in the “court of public opinion,” he said.

But not long after the hearing, Mr. Aidala spoke to reporters outside the courthouse.

“It’s the court of appeals who brought sanity back into the equation,” he said.

Mr. Weinstein is still facing prison time in California, where he was convicted in 2020 of rape and sexual assault and sentenced to 16 years to be served after his New York sentence. Mr. Weinstein’s lawyer in California, Jennifer Bonjean, has said that she plans to appeal Mr. Weinstein’s conviction, and that she believes that the recent ruling in New York will help her chances of success, though several legal experts have cast doubt on that.

The next hearing in the New York case is scheduled for July 9.