Harvey Weinstein’s Retrial Moved To Next Year, Lawyer Plans To Hire A Private Investigator

NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein’s retrial on sex crimes charges in Manhattan will not begin until at least next year, and his lawyer intends to employ a private investigator to check into a fresh complaint against the movie mogul that will now be included in the case.

The fresh information was revealed as Weinstein appeared in court Wednesday for a preliminary hearing.

Harvey was already set for retrial on two sex offense charges after the state’s top court reversed his 2020 conviction earlier this year. Then, in September, he received a fresh charge for another attack. He’s pled not guilty.

On Wednesday, Judge Curtis Farber granted the prosecution’s plea to consolidate both cases and stated that he would set a new trial date by January 29, 2025.

Harvey Weinstein’s Retrial Moved To Next Year, Lawyer Plans To Hire A Private Investigator

The trial was originally slated to begin on November 12, but Harvey’s attorneys requested a date in March or April when the new accusation was added.

“We’ll need some time to investigate the case, hire a private investigator, and go deeper into discovery,” said Harvey’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala.

Prosecutors said they were not opposed to the date, but they were ready to go to trial in January.

Harvey was convicted of forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006 and third-degree rape for an attack on an aspiring actor in 2013. In the latest complaint, authorities allege that he forced oral sex on a separate lady in a Manhattan hotel in the spring of 2006.

Aidala stated after the court session that the identity of the new accuser had not been formally disclosed.

Lindsay Goldbrum, the accuser’s attorney, has previously stated that the lady has never made her claim public and does not want to be recognized for the time being, but she “will be fully prepared to speak her truth at trial.”

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office argued that having a second trial on the additional charge would be “extraordinarily inefficient” and a waste of judicial resources. Harvey’s lawyers argued in court documents that the cases should be kept separate, accusing prosecutors of aiming to turn the retrial into “an entirely new proceeding.”

Harvey Weinstein’s Retrial Moved To Next Year, Lawyer Plans To Hire A Private Investigator

Harvey has been detained at the city’s Rikers Island detention facility, where he has suffered many health difficulties.

He was also convicted of rape in Los Angeles in 2022, but his lawyers have filed an appeal.

The sexual assault and harassment charges against Weinstein fueled the #MeToo movement in 2017.

The 72-year-old former producer co-founded Miramax and The Weinstein Company, both of which create films and television shows. He produced films such as “Shakespeare in Love” and “The Crying Game.”

SOURCE | AP