NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein will remain in detention in New York while awaiting a retrial on rape and sexual assault allegations in Manhattan, prosecutors announced Monday, as the former movie mogul appeared in court for a brief hearing on California’s request to extradite him.
However, after the New York case is over, he will return to California to fulfill his outstanding 16-year sentence for a separate rape conviction there, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement.
“Today, defendant Harvey Weinstein was formally arraigned on a governor’s warrant issued by Governor Kathy Hochul, who exercised her authority for him to remain in New York State until his case in New York County is adjudicated,” Katz informed reporters. “He will serve the California sentence first, as it is now his primary sentence.”
Harvey Weinstein Will Remain Locked Up In New York While Awaiting Rape Retrial
Weinstein, who has denied raping or sexually assaulting anybody, was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 after already completing a 23-year term in New York. His 2020 Manhattan conviction was overturned this spring by the state’s highest court, which determined that the judge in the initial trial unfairly allowed testimony against Weinstein based on charges that were not part of the prosecution.
The retrial in Manhattan is likely planned in November.
The 72-year-old Weinstein appeared in Queens criminal court for less than five minutes Monday, with one hand shackled to his wheelchair and the other clutching a book and a magazine, as his lawyers agreed to keep him in the adjacent Rikers Island jail facility. Weinstein has returned after being hospitalized last month with COVID-19 and pneumonia in both lungs.
Due to its proximity to Rikers Island, the extradition case has been heard in Queens court rather than Manhattan.
Manhattan prosecutors announced last month that they want to file new sexual assault charges against Weinstein, but they have not provided any additional information or a schedule for doing so.
Arthur Aidala, Weinstein’s lawyer, suggested at the time that prosecutors’ discussion of new accusers called into question the validity of their current case.
Former U.S. Rep. George Santos is scheduled to appear in court Monday afternoon, and a source close to the situation says the New York Republican is anticipated to plead guilty to many counts in his federal fraud case.
The individual could not publicly discuss the terms of the plea and spoke with The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. Santos and his solicitors did not respond to demands for comment.
The case has been scheduled to go to trial early next month. The Monday afternoon court date on Long Island was scheduled on Friday at the request of prosecutors and Santos’ attorneys. The letter making the request did not say what it was about.
Santos has pleaded not guilty to several alleged financial offenses, including lying to Congress about his riches, claiming unemployment benefits while working, and using campaign contributions to cover personal costs.
The 36-year-old was once regarded as a rising political star after successfully flipping the suburban district, including the affluent North Shore of Long Island and a portion of the New York City borough of Queens in 2022.
But his personal story began to disintegrate before he was sworn into office. At the time, reports surfaced that he had lied about having a job at top Wall Street firms and a college degree, among other aspects of his history.
New doubts arose concerning his campaign finances.
In May 2023, he was initially indicted on federal charges but refused to resign from office. Santos was dismissed from Congress after an ethics inquiry revealed “overwhelming evidence” that he had breached the law and used his public position for personal gain.
Santos had previously maintained his innocence, but in a December interview, he stated that a plea agreement with prosecutors was “not off the table.”
When asked if he was terrified of going to prison, he told CBS 2 at the time, “I think everybody should be afraid of going to jail, it’s not a pretty place, and uh, I definitely want to work very hard to avoid that as best as possible.”
Separately, in Manhattan federal court, Judge Denise Cote dismissed a lawsuit in which Santos claimed that late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, ABC, and Disney violated his copyright and unjustly enriched themselves by using videos he created on the Cameo app for a “Jimmy Kimmel Live” segment. The judge determined that Kimmel utilized the clips, which were also placed on YouTube, for criticism and commentary, which is fair use.
Santos began selling personalized films on Cameo shortly after being ousted from Congress in December. He later launched, but swiftly abandoned, a long-shot bid to return to Congress as an independent early this year.
In a Sunday radio interview, Santos said he has found solace in being a “somewhat private civilian” again.
“I really don’t miss the rubber chicken dinners, rah-rah-rah parties, and fundraisers,” he stated of his previous life.
With his criminal trial approaching, he stated in the WABC interview that he is “terrified.”
“This is not an easy procedure to go through. “It hurts, and it affects your psychological health,” he told host Cindy Adams.
As the trial date approached, Santos wanted a largely anonymous jury. His lawyers said in court filings that “the mere risk of public ridicule could influence the individual jurors’ ability to decide Santos’ case solely on the facts and law presented in Court.”
Harvey Weinstein Will Remain Locked Up In New York While Awaiting Rape Retrial
He also requested that potential jurors complete a written questionnaire assessing their perceptions of him. His attorneys said that the survey was necessary because “for all intents and purposes, Santos has already been found guilty in the court of public opinion.”
Judge Joanna Seybert agreed to publicize jurors’ identities but rejected the questionnaire.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, had been seeking to admit as evidence some of the financial falsehoods Santos told during his campaign, including that he’d worked at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs and that he ran a family-run firm with approximately $80 million in assets.
Two Santos campaign aides have previously admitted to offences relating to the former congressman’s campaign.
Nancy Marks, his former treasurer, pleaded guilty to a fraud conspiracy charge in October, accusing Santos of orchestrating a scheme to falsify his campaign financial records with a fictitious loan and contributors. A lawyer for Marks stated at the time that his client would be willing to testify against Santos if asked.
Sam Miele, a former Santos fundraiser, pleaded guilty a month later to a federal wire fraud charge, admitting he impersonated a high-ranking congressional aide while raising funds for Santos’ campaign.
SOURCE | AP
