Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer tells jury film mogul’s accusers lied

NEW YORK -Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer urged a jury on Tuesday to search out the previous film mogul not responsible of rape and sexual assault expenses, accusing the three alleged victims of mendacity on the witness stand out of spite after their consensual sexual encounters with him did not ship them Hollywood stardom.

In his closing argument in Weinstein’s retrial in a Manhattan courtroom, protection lawyer Arthur Aidala walked the 12 jurors via what he mentioned had been inconsistencies within the girls’s testimony and electronic mail proof he asserted undercut their claims that Weinstein had assaulted them.

Weinstein, who pleaded not responsible, is on trial for a second time after a state appeals courtroom threw out his conviction in April 2024. Experiencing a litany of well being issues, Weinstein was current in courtroom in a wheelchair, carrying a darkish go well with and tie.

Weinstein, 73, is accused of raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann and assaulting the 2 different girls in what prosecutors have referred to as a sample during which the onetime Hollywood kingmaker used his energy and affect to lure victims after which hold them silent. Mann advised jurors throughout the trial, which that started in April, that Weinstein raped her in a lodge room in 2013.

“They are lying about what happened. Not about everything, but about a small slice – just enough to turn their regret, their buyers’ remorse, into criminality,” Aidala mentioned of the accusers.

“Jessica Mann lied. She’s a liar,” Aidala mentioned.

Prosecutors have portrayed Weinstein as a serial predator who promised profession development in Hollywood to girls, solely to then coax them into personal settings the place he attacked them. The Miramax studio co-founder has denied ever having non-consensual intercourse with anybody.

“Mr. Weinstein sits here an innocent man. The presumption of innocence … The only ones who can take that away are the 12 of you,” Aidala advised the jurors.

Prosecutors with the workplace of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg are set to ship a closing argument later within the day.

Weinstein already will possible spend the remainder of his life in jail as a consequence of a 16-year jail sentence for rape in California. 

Weinstein was convicted of rape by a jury within the earlier trial in Manhattan in February 2020, however the New York Court of Appeals threw out the conviction and ordered a brand new trial, citing errors by the trial decide. Weinstein had been serving a 23-year sentence in a jail in upstate Rome, New York, when the conviction was overturned.

That conviction was a milestone for the #MeToo motion, which inspired girls to come back ahead with allegations of sexual misconduct by highly effective males.

Weinstein has been held at New York City’s Rikers Island jail since his conviction was overturned. He has had a number of well being scares whereas being held at Rikers, and in September was rushed to a hospital for emergency coronary heart surgical procedure.

During his opening assertion on April 23, Aidala mentioned the Oscar-winning producer had “mutually beneficial” relationships along with his accusers, who ended up with auditions and different present enterprise alternatives.

Bragg’s workplace initially accused Weinstein of sexually assaulting former manufacturing assistant Miriam Haley in 2006 and raping Mann in 2013, expenses he was convicted of within the first trial.

For the retrial, prosecutors added a brand new cost that Weinstein assaulted one other lady in Manhattan in 2002.

The lady, Kaja Sokola of Poland, testified that Weinstein assaulted her in a Manhattan lodge room. 

More than 100 girls, together with well-known actresses, have accused Weinstein of misconduct. He has denied assaulting anybody or having non-consensual intercourse.

Miramax studio produced many hit motion pictures in its heyday, together with “Shakespeare in Love” and “Pulp Fiction.”

Weinstein’s personal eponymous movie studio filed for chapter in March 2018, 5 months after the unique sexual misconduct accusations grew to become extensively publicized.

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