Manhattan prosecutors told a judge Tuesday they're anticipating a November retrial for Harvey Weinstein as they continue to investigate possible new sexual-assault charges against the disgraced media mogul. Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg said prosecutors haven't yet brought their findings to a grand jury and said she couldn't provide the court a timeline for when their investigation will be complete. "The people are still investigating in a trauma-informed matter," she said, per the AP.
But Weinstein lawyer Arthur Aidala, with his client sitting next to him in a wheelchair, suggested the investigation was simply a delay tactic from prosecutors, saying something similar happened ahead of the initial rape trial. "Once again we have the individual and we're looking for a crime," he said. "We've got the '1-800-Get-Harvey' hotline." Blumberg responded that the office is actively pursuing claims of rape that occurred in Manhattan within the statute of limitations. She said some potential survivors that weren't ready to step forward during Weinstein's first New York trial may have indicated they're now willing to testify.
"There's certainly no delay tactics on our part," Blumberg said. "We're proceeding in the most expeditious manner." She said the prosecution's plan is to proceed to trial in the fall. When asked by Judge Curtis Farber what month she anticipated, Blumberg responded: "November would be a realistic time frame." Aidala said his client simply wants to get the trial going as soon as possible, noting he's in his fifth year of incarceration. "He's suffering tremendously," Aidala said, adding that Weinstein suffers from macular degeneration, "fluid in his lungs," and diabetes that's "through the roof." "He's basically getting no treatment for any of it," Aidala said. "He's a sick man."
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Weinstein, 72, has maintained that any sexual activity he's been accused of was consensual. He's currently jailed at Rikers Island. In April, New York's highest court threw out Weinstein's rape conviction after determining the trial judge unfairly allowed testimony from other women that weren't part of the case. Weinstein, who'd been serving a 23-year sentence in New York, was also convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 for another rape and is still sentenced to 16 years in prison in California. Weinstein's lawyers an appeal filed last month in California, arguing he didn't get a fair trial. (More Harvey Weinstein stories.)
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