Harvey Weinstein Is Expected To Appear Before Judge In Same Courthouse Where Trump Is On Trial

NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein is scheduled to appear before a judge Wednesday afternoon in the same New York City courthouse where former President Donald Trump is being tried.

Weinstein is facing a retrial on rape charges after his 2020 conviction was overturned. Wednesday’s court hearing will cover a variety of legal concerns relating to the future trial, which is currently slated for sometime after Labor Day.

Weinstein | AP News Image

Harvey Weinstein Is Expected To Appear Before Judge In Same Courthouse Where Trump Is On Trial

Weinstein’s original trial occurred in the same courtroom as Trump’s current trial, but the two men are unlikely to meet. Weinstein is in jail and will be transported to and from the courthouse by guards. He will appear in a courtroom on a different floor from where Trump is now on trial.

Weinstein was found guilty of third-degree rape after attacking Jessica Mann, an aspiring actor, and sexually abusing Miriam Haley, a former TV and film production assistant.

However, this month, New York’s highest court overturned those convictions, ruling that the trial judge had improperly allowed testimony against him based on allegations made by other women who were not involved in the case. Weinstein, 72, has claimed that all sexual activity was consensual.

The New York decision resurrected a terrible chapter in America’s struggle with sexual misconduct by powerful persons. The #MeToo movement began in 2017 with many complaints against Weinstein.

Last Monday, prosecutors requested Judge Curtis Farber to warn Weinstein’s attorneys not to discuss or denigrate potential witnesses in public before the retrial.

Weinstein | CTV News Image

Harvey Weinstein Is Expected To Appear Before Judge In Same Courthouse Where Trump Is On Trial

The office of Manhattan District counsel Alvin Bragg claimed that Weinstein’s principal counsel, Arthur Aidala, made intimidatory statements to Haley earlier this month.

Speaking outside court on May 1, Aidala claimed Haley lied to the jury about her motivation for coming forward and that his team planned a strong cross-examination on the subject “if she dares to come and show her face here.”

On Tuesday, Aidala has yet to respond to an email requesting comment on Bragg’s request.

Haley has stated that she does not want to go through the agony of testifying again, “but for the sake of keeping going and doing the right thing, and because it is what happened, I would consider it.”

Her attorney, Gloria Allred, declined to comment until after Wednesday’s sessions.

Weinstein | Sky News Image

Harvey Weinstein Is Expected To Appear Before Judge In Same Courthouse Where Trump Is On Trial

The Associated Press does not typically identify persons who allege sexual assault unless they choose to be named, as Haley and Mann have.

Weinstein, who was serving a 23-year term in New York, was convicted of another rape in Los Angeles in 2022 and remains condemned to 16 years in jail in California.

SOURCE – AP