Prosecutors wrap up closing arguments in Harvey Weinstein rape, sexual-assault retrial

Globe and Mail

2 days ago

Prosecutors made their final pitch to jurors on Wednesday in the rape and sexual assault retrial of Harvey Weinstein, a day after the former movie mogul's lawyer said during his closing argument that the three alleged victims lied on the witness stand.
Picking up where she left off during closing arguments on Tuesday, prosecutor Nicole Blumberg sought to weave together for the jury the accounts of the three women who testified that Weinstein had attacked them.
'Members of the jury, he raped three women. They all said, 'no,'' Blumberg said.
Weinstein, 73, is on trial for a second time after a New York state appeals court threw out his conviction in April, 2024. Experiencing a litany of health problems, Weinstein was present in court on Wednesday in a wheelchair, wearing a dark suit and tie.
He is accused of raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013 and assaulting the two other women in 2006 and 2002. The trial began in April.
A lawyer for Weinstein on Wednesday twice moved for a mistrial based on comments by Blumberg during her arguments, but the motions were swiftly denied by state Supreme Court Justice Curtis Farber.
Blumberg on Tuesday called Weinstein a serial predator who promised career advancement in Hollywood to women, only to then coax them into private settings where he attacked them. Weinstein, who has denied ever having non-consensual sex or assaulting anyone, has pleaded not guilty.
'The defendant used his power and influence to create many, many award-winning movies,' Blumberg said. 'But he also used that same power, that same influence, to isolate women, trap women in places where he'd be alone with them and abuse them.'
Defense attorney Arthur Aidala on Tuesday accused the three alleged victims of lying on the witness stand out of spite after consensual sexual encounters with the Academy Award-winning producer failed to deliver them Hollywood stardom.
'They are lying about what happened. Not about everything, but about a small slice - just enough to turn their regret, their buyers' remorse, into criminality,' Aidala said of the accusers during his closing argument.
Weinstein faces a maximum sentence of up to 29 years in prison if convicted on all changes. He already will likely spend the rest of his life in prison due to a 16-year prison sentence given to him after being found guilty in December 2022 of rape in California.
He was convicted of rape by a jury in the previous trial in Manhattan in February 2020, but the New York Court of Appeals threw out the conviction and ordered a new trial, citing errors by the trial judge. Weinstein had been serving a 23-year sentence in a prison in upstate Rome, New York, when the conviction was overturned.
That conviction was a milestone for the #MeToo movement, which encouraged women to come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct by powerful men. More than 100 women, including famous actresses, have accused Weinstein of misconduct.
Weinstein has been held at New York City's Rikers Island jail since his conviction was overturned. He has experienced several health scares while being held at Rikers, and in September was rushed to a hospital for emergency heart surgery.