Harvey Weinstein charged with further crimes in New York

Harvey Weinstein has been charged again, prosecutors said in Manhattan Supreme Court on Sept. 12, months after New York's highest court overturned his landmark rape conviction. “The grand jury has indicted Mr. Weinstein,” prosecutor Nicole Blumberg said in court. “We have not yet released the actual indictment, so we will not be releasing the specifics of the charges.”

“He has been charged,” Blumberg continued. “We would, of course, request a date when Mr. Weinstein can be present to face the new charges.” Prosecutors will file documents to consolidate the new and old charges and present Weinstein's defense with evidence related to all of the accusers. Weinstein, who had a cardiac emergency earlier in the week, was not in court this morning because he had not received medical clearance to leave the hospital, according to proceedings.

While details of the new charges are still unknown, Weinstein's lead attorney, Arthur Aidala, said at a press conference that based on what prosecutors have told him, he believes the indictment relates to three alleged incidents: one in early 2006, another in 2006 and another in 2016. It's not clear whether those incidents involve one accuser or three, though Aidala said he believes they were likely three different plaintiffs. That could bring the total number of accusers in the Manhattan indictment to about four or five. Asked whether the statute of limitations for different crimes says anything about the potential charges (less serious charges generally have shorter statutes of limitations), Aidala said, “I don't assume they're misdemeanors. I assume they're serious felonies.”

It is not surprising that charges have been brought against Weinstein.

Prosecutors had previously announced they would file charges against him a second time. “We believe in this case and we will try it again,” Blumberg said during the May 1 hearing in Manhattan Supreme Court. At the time, Blumberg told the court that one of the women Weinstein was found guilty of assaulting was present at the hearing. Her presence was another sign that prosecutors wanted to pursue the case. “Jessica Mann is here in court. She is one of the victims of sexual violence and she is here today to show that she is not backing down,” Blumberg explained. “She wanted everyone to know the truth and that the defendant may have power and privilege, but she has the truth.” The judge overseeing Weinstein's case, Curtis Farber, said the trial is tentatively scheduled for this fall.

Weinstein was found guilty on February 24, 2020, of third-degree rape and first-degree sexual abuse for assaulting two women, Mann and Mimi Haleyi. Weinstein was found not guilty on two counts of sexual assault, involving actress Annabella Sciorra's claim that he raped her in late 1993. (Because Weinstein was acquitted on those counts, he cannot be tried again.) The appeals court overturned the case because prosecutors asked three other accusers — Dawn Dunning, Tarale Wulff and Lauren Young — to take the stand on Weinstein's sexual misconduct, allegations for which he was not charged.

Weinstein fought his conviction, and the court ruled in his favor. In its ruling, the court stated: “The only evidence against the defendant was the plaintiffs' statements, and the result of the court's decisions was, on the one hand, to bolster their credibility and weaken the defendant's character before the jury. On the other hand, the threat of cross-examination highlighting these unproven allegations undermined the defendant's right to testify.”

This post has been updated with additional statements.