Harvey Weinstein indicted in New York on additional charges
Harvey Weinstein has been indicted on more criminal charges in New York, prosecutors said in a Manhattan court on Thursday. The Manhattan district attorney's office is preparing to retry the former movie mogul following the reversal of his rape conviction.
Jurors in Manhattan found Weinstein, 72, guilty on rape charges in 2020, but the New York Court of Appeals threw out the conviction in April, finding Weinstein did not get a fair trial because a judge improperly allowed testimony by accusers he was not formally charged with assaulting. The embattled movie mogul is currently in the hospital recovering from emergency heart surgery.
Manhattan prosecutors said in July that they were investigating additional violent sexual assaults allegedly committed by Weinstein after more women agreed to testify against the Miramax studio co-founder. He has denied ever having nonconsensual sexual encounters with anyone.
In a statement Thursday, Weinstein's representative, Juda Engelmayer, said Weinstein was "resting in a hospital following heart surgery and is connected to monitors and various IV tubes, as well as bags to relieve the fluids from his body."
Engelmayer claimed that the district attorney's office has been "objecting to any helpful medical care for" Weinstein and had "not yet served" the indictment. Therefore, "We have no idea what's in them, who they are about, or when any instances have occurred."
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Engelmayer added, "If you weigh the evidence, you heard today that the District Attorney would be happy if Harvey doesn't make it to or through the trial."
Prosecutor Nicole Blumberg did not specify the new charges Weinstein faces during a hearing before Judge Curtis Farber in New York state court in Manhattan.
The indictment is under seal, with an arraignment scheduled for Sept. 18, according to The Associated Press.
Farber has tentatively set a trial date for Nov. 12, but has said he is open to considering an earlier start.
Weinstein's lawyer has said it was unfair for prosecutors to seek to add additional victims to the case after the conviction was overturned.
"Once again we have a hotline: '1-800 Get Harvey,'" defense attorney Arthur Aidala said in court on July 9.
Harvey Weinstein indictment follows emergency heart surgery
The onetime Hollywood kingmaker's health has deteriorated significantly in recent years, according to his representatives, and he uses a wheelchair due to back problems.
Weinstein was "rushed" to Bellevue Hospital on Sunday night "due to several medical conditions" and underwent emergency heart surgery, representatives Craig Rothfeld and Engelmayer confirmed to USA TODAY on Monday.
"We can confirm that Mr. Weinstein had a procedure and surgery on his heart today however cannot comment any further than that," their statement read.
"As we have extensively stated before, Mr. Weinstein suffers a plethora of significant health issues that need ongoing treatment. We are grateful to the executive team at the New York City Department of Correction and Rikers Island for acting swiftly in taking him to Bellevue Hospital."
Harvey Weinsteinrushed from Rikers Island to hospital for emergency heart surgery
Despite the reversal of his New York conviction, Weinstein has remained in custody at the Rikers Island jail complex because of a separate rape conviction in California.
He was moved to the prison ward of a New York hospital in July with multiple ailments, including COVID-19.
Weinstein's initial conviction in New York was a milestone for the #MeToo movement, in which women accused hundreds of men in entertainment, media, politics and other fields of sexual misconduct.
A jury found Weinstein sexually assaulted former production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006 and raped aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013. They are among more than 80 women who have accused him of sexual misconduct.
Harvey WeinsteinUK indecent assault case dropped over chance of conviction
Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison for the New York case, and to 16 years in prison for the separate California case.
In that case, a Los Angeles jury found Weinstein guilty of rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by a foreign object involving one woman, but acquitted him of charges relating to a second accuser.
The judge overseeing the case declared a mistrial on the counts where the jury could not reach a verdict, including the allegations made by Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The California conviction was not affected by the New York top court's decision. Weinstein has not begun serving the California sentence.
With Weinstein at the helm, Miramax's hit movies included "Shakespeare in Love" and "Pulp Fiction." Weinstein's film studio filed for bankruptcy in March 2018 after the allegations against him precipitated its implosion.
In the New York trial, prosecutors portrayed Weinstein as a serial predator who had manipulated women with promises of career advancement in Hollywood, coaxing them to hotel rooms or private apartments and then overpowering and violently attacking them.
During his sentencing hearing in Manhattan in 2020, Weinstein said he was worried about the "thousands of men who are losing due process" during the #MeToo movement.
Contributing: Jack Queen, Reuters; Taijuan Moorman and Edward Segarra, USA TODAY