Weinstein concedes he acted 'immorally' as jury weighs his fate

Yahoo

13 hours ago

Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein conceded that he acted "immorally" but insisted he did nothing criminal as a jury deliberated on his fate for a second day in his sex assault retrial Friday.
Weinstein is on trial again after a New York state appeals court threw out his 2020 convictions, citing irregularities in the presentation of witnesses at the original proceedings.
The former movie industry titan's 23 year prison sentence for the initial conviction was thrown out, but he remains imprisoned for separate offenses.
Although Weinstein did not take the stand, he spoke out in an interview aired by FOX5 television Friday as the jury deliberated following six weeks of testimony.
"I have regrets that I put my family through this, that I put my wife through this, and I acted immorally..., but never illegal, never criminal, never anything," he said.
Weinstein pointed to comments by his defense attorney Arthur Aidala who suggested the three women who testified against him at trial "had four million reasons to testify, as in dollars."
Judge Curtis Farber issued instructions Thursday to jurors, one of whom had to be swapped out for an alternate after falling ill, before they retired to consider their verdict.
He called on the panel to use their "common sense" for this "very important decision" and reminded them that Weinstein was "presumed innocent."
On Friday, the jury panel of 12 requested to rehear the emotional testimony of two of the three women whose allegations are being prosecuted at this trial, former model Kaja Sokola and actress Jessica Mann.
The jury must decide whether Weinstein -- accused by dozens of women of being a sexual predator -- is guilty of sexual assaults in 2006 on former production assistant Miriam Haley and Sokola, and of rape in 2013 of aspiring actress Mann.
- 'Rules apply to him' -
"He raped three women, they all said no," prosecutor Nicole Blumberg said Wednesday as she recounted the evidence of the three alleged victims of Weinstein who testified at the trial.
The Hollywood figure had "all the power" and "all the control" over the alleged victims, which is why jurors should find him guilty, she said.
"The defendant thought the rules did not apply to him, now it is the time to let him know that the rules apply to him.
"There is no reasonable doubt; tell the defendant what he already knows -- that he is guilty of the three crimes."
Weinstein's defense attorney insisted the sexual encounters were consensual, pointing to a "casting couch" dynamic between the movie mogul and the women.
"We don't want to police the bedroom" except in cases of rape, Blumberg fired back.
Weinstein, the producer of box office hits "Pulp Fiction" and "Shakespeare in Love," has never acknowledged wrongdoing.
The cinema magnate, whose downfall in 2017 sparked the global #MeToo movement, has been on trial since April 15 in a scruffy Manhattan courtroom.
He is already serving a 16-year prison sentence after being convicted in California in a separate for raping and assaulting a European actress more than a decade ago.
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