Harvey Weinstein: Prosecutors seek retrial as early as September

Prosecutors have asked for a September retrial for disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein during a hearing yesterday (Wednesday 1 May) in Manhattan.

Weinstein’s first court appearance since his 2020 rape conviction was overturned by an appeals court last week – a ruling which shocked and disappointed women who celebrated historic gains during the era of #MeToo, a movement that ushered in a wave of sexual-misconduct claims in Hollywood and beyond.

One of Weinstein’s accusers, Jessica Mann, was in the courtroom on Wednesday and is prepared to testify again, Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg told the judge.

The former actor wants everyone to know that the defendant “may have power” but “she has the truth,” she said.

“We believe in this case and will be retrying this case,” Blumberg added.

Judge Curtis Farber set a 29 May pretrial court date, with the aim of going to trial some time after Labor Day (2 September).

Weinstein, wearing a navy blue suit, was seated in a wheelchair and didn’t address the court but smiled and shook hands with supporters in the gallery.

The 72-year-old, who has cardiac issues and diabetes, has been in a hospital since his return to the city jail system last Friday from an upstate prison.

In court, his attorney, Arthur Aidala, said he has no concern about his client’s mental abilities, describing Weinstein as “sharp as a tack. As sharp as he ever was.”

Aidala said his client wants to prove his innocence: “It’s a new trial, it’s a new day and his life is on the line.”

In the New York case that is now overturned, Weinstein was convicted of rape in the third degree for an attack on aspiring actor Mann in 2013 and of forcing himself on a TV and film production assistant, Mimi Haley, in 2006. Weinstein had pleaded not guilty and maintained any sexual activity was consensual.

Weinstein was also convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape and is still sentenced to 16 years in prison in California. He remains in custody in New York and will head back to Manhattan’s Bellevue Hospital, where he is expected to remain, Aidala said.

“He’s in constant pain that he’s fighting through,” the attorney said outside the courthouse. “Harvey Weinstein was used to drinking champagne and eating caviar, and now he’s at the commissary paying for potato chips and M&Ms,” Aidala said. “He’s keeping his chin up, making the best of a horrible situation.”