Harvey Weinstein's defense weighs last-minute decision on testifying as retrial reaches final stretch
As the latest courtroom drama surrounding
Harvey Weinstein
reaches its final act, one big question looms over the Manhattan retrial: Will the disgraced Hollywood producer testify in his own defense?
Weinstein's legal team isn't saying just yet.
'We're going to make a game-time, more or less, decision,' defense attorney Arthur Aidala told reporters outside the courtroom Thursday, keeping the suspense alive.
Weinstein, who skipped the stand in both his 2020 New York conviction (now overturned) and his California trial, is reportedly mulling over whether it's finally time to tell his side of the story—this time, directly to the jury.
According to Aidala, one of his law partners spent the entire Memorial Day weekend preparing Weinstein in case he decides to testify.
'There is a part of him that is seriously contemplating… whether human beings feel obligated to hear the other side of the story,' Aidala said, hinting at a possible dramatic twist.
The question comes just days after Weinstein gave a rare interview to conservative firebrand Candace Owens, proclaiming his innocence once again in a podcast that dropped last week. Her name has since surfaced in court too, as the defense briefly floated the idea of calling Owens as a witness—though that now appears unlikely.
'I don't think we're going to disturb Ms. Owens,' Aidala quipped Thursday, noting that she had just given birth and there wasn't anything 'so gripping' to justify her appearance on the stand.
The high-stakes retrial—centered on new and existing sexual assault allegations—began April 23 and is moving toward a conclusion. Weinstein is facing criminal sexual and rape charges linked to allegations by three women:
Miriam Haley, a former Project Runway production assistant, who says Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her in 2006.
Jessica Mann, an aspiring actress, who alleges he raped her in a Manhattan hotel in 2013.
Kaja Sokola, whose claim—Weinstein allegedly performed oral sex on her without consent in 2006—is a new charge in this retrial.
All three accusers have testified, and the prosecution rested their case Wednesday. Weinstein, notably present in court throughout, has reportedly been closely analyzing how the trial is unfolding.
'He thinks that the evidence at this trial has been challenged very forcefully,' Aidala said. 'Many of the complainant stories have been torn apart.'
On Wednesday and Thursday, the defense began calling their own witnesses—including a doctor and pharmacist who testified about Weinstein's erectile dysfunction, a key point raised during the women's testimony. On Thursday, the courtroom heard from Helga Rose Samuelson, a former roommate of Sokola, who contradicted parts of Sokola's account by saying Weinstein had visited their shared apartment and entered a bedroom with her—a claim Sokola denied during her testimony.
Things got more complicated earlier this week when Aidala referenced a conversation allegedly between Mann and Owens, suggesting Mann didn't initially categorize the encounter with Weinstein as rape. That line of questioning was ultimately struck from the record, with the judge telling jurors to disregard it as having 'no factual basis.'
As for star feminist attorney Gloria Allred, who represents Haley, Aidala's team did issue a subpoena but admitted they hadn't gone to great lengths to enforce it.
Looking ahead, two more witnesses are expected to take the stand Friday to challenge Mann's credibility. If Weinstein himself opts not to testify, closing arguments could begin as early as Tuesday, setting the stage for the jury to begin deliberations on one of Hollywood's most infamous cases.
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