Harvey Weinstein not expected to take the stand at retrial, attorney says

CBS News

4 days ago

Harvey Weinstein is not planning to take the stand during his retrial in New York City, his attorney says.
Attorney Arthur Aidala confirmed the decision to CBS News New York's Alice Gainer on Sunday.
Jurors are expected to hear closing arguments on Tuesday before they begin their deliberations.
The retrial started on April 23 and involves rape and sexual assault accusations from three women. Weinstein, 73, has pleaded not guilty.
Who has testified so far in Weinstein's sexual assault retrial?
Miriam Haley, a 48-year-old former production assistant, was the first accuser to take the stand at the retrial. She testified Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her when she went to his apartment in July 2006.
Former model Kaja Sokola, 39, was the second accuser to testify, alleging Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her at a Manhattan hotel in 2006 when she was 19 years old. Jurors also heard from Sokola's former roommate.
Jessica Mann, a 39-year-old cosmetologist and hairstylist who at one time had a consensual relationship with Weinstein, was the final accuser to testify. She claims Weinstein raped her at a New York hotel in 2013.
An ex-aide who worked for Weinstein's production company also testified.
Why is Weinstein's case being retried?
Weinstein was originally convicted on rape charges in 2020 and sentenced to 23 years in prison. He was found guilty of raping Mann in 2013 and of committing a criminal sex act by forcing oral sex on Haley in 2006.
Last year, however, New York's highest court overturned the conviction, saying the original trial judge allowed prejudicial testimony. That judge allowed prosecutors to call alleged victims whose accusations were not part of the charges against Weinstein, which the court said resulted in Weinstein being judged "on irrelevant, prejudicial, and untested allegations of prior bad acts."
The original judge's term expired in 2022, and he is no longer on the bench.
Who is the new accuser in Weinstein's retrial?
Haley and Mann's accusations were at the center of Weinstein's original trial, but Weinstein is facing a new criminal sex act charge in connection to allegations by Sokola.
Sokola said she did not go to the authorities to make formal accusations against Weinstein until he was on trial in 2020. The investigation into her claims was halted when Weinstein was convicted, but it was renewed after that verdict was reversed. She was eventually awarded $3.5 million in civil proceedings.
Sokola also claims Weinstein sexually assaulted her when she was 16 years old, but because she says the alleged act happened in 2002, it is beyond the legal time limit for potential charges.