Harvey Weinstein weighs plea to cold case after judge refuses to overturn conviction

Harvey Weinstein is considering a possible guilty plea to resolve an unresolved rape charge and avoid going to trial a third time in New York, a judge said Thursday.

But, midway through the plea speech, the disgraced movie mogul struck a defiant tone, telling a court hearing: “I know I’ve been unfaithful, I know I’ve done wrong, but I’ve never assaulted anyone.”

Weinstein spoke after Judge Curtis Farber rejected his attempt to overturn his only conviction from his previous trial, a charge of forcibly performing oral sex on a woman in 2006, which carries a potential sentence of up to 25 years in prison.

The same jury acquitted Weinstein of a charge involving similar allegations involving another woman, also in 2006, and failed to reach a verdict on the charge that he raped hairstylist and actress Jessica Mann at a Manhattan hotel in 2013.

Weinstein’s lawyers had argued that the verdict handed down last June in Manhattan state court was tainted by infighting and intimidation among jurors. Farber rejected that proposal and scheduled a March 3 retrial on the unresolved charge of third-degree rape.

The rape charge carries a sentence of up to four years, less than Weinstein has already served.

“I am disappointed in today’s decision,” Weinstein told the judge. “You witnessed the trial and saw how forces beyond my control deprived me of my most fundamental right to a fair trial.”

He accused one juror of conducting deliberations for personal gain, intimidating others and spreading false allegations. This, he said, “destroyed any hope of impartiality.”

After Farber issued his ruling, Weinstein’s lawyer Arthur Aidala said he wanted to “continue plea negotiations” before meeting behind closed doors with the judge, prosecutors and other defense attorneys to discuss the matter.

A few minutes later, Farber returned to the bench and said Weinstein wanted time to think about it.

Long, curvy case

It’s the latest convoluted twist in the former Hollywood honcho’s journey through the criminal justice system. His landmark case of the #MeToo era spanned seven years, trials in two states, a reversal in one and a retrial that ended chaotically in New York last year.

Weinstein has denied all accusations.

The lawsuits were one fallout from a series of sexual harassment and assault allegations against him that emerged publicly in 2017 and subsequent years, fueling the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct. From the start, Weinstein apologized for “the way I behaved with my colleagues in the past”, while denying ever having non-consensual sexual relations.

At trial, Weinstein’s lawyers argued that the women willingly accepted his advances in hopes of getting work in various positions in show business, then falsely accused him of failing to attract attention and settlement funds.

The split verdict last June came after several jurors took the unusual step of asking to brief the judge on behind-the-scenes tensions.

During a series of exchanges, partly in open court, one juror complained that others were “avoiding” one of the jury members; the jury foreman alluded to jurors verbally “pushing people” and talking about Weinstein’s “past” in a way the juror found inappropriate; However, a third juror felt that the discussions “were going well”.

The foreman then came forward again to complain to the judge that he had been pressured to change his mind, then said he feared for his safety because another panel member had said he would “see me outside.” The committee chairman ultimately refused to continue deliberations.

In court, Farber spoke of the secrecy of the ongoing deliberations and reminded jurors not to divulge “the content or tenor.” Since the trial, Weinstein’s lawyers have spoken with the first juror who openly complained and another who did not.

In affidavits, both men said they did not believe Weinstein guilty, but that they relented because of the verbal assault from other jurors.

One said that after another juror insulted her intelligence and suggested the judge fire her, she became so frightened that she called two relatives that evening and “told them to come get me if they didn’t hear from me, because something was wrong with this jury deliberation process.” The identities of all jurors were redacted in court records.

Weinstein’s lawyers say the tensions amounted to threats that poisoned the process and that Farber failed to adequately address the situation before refusing the defense’s requests for a mistrial.

Prosecutors contend the judge was confronted with allegations about “scattered instances of contentious interactions” and handled them appropriately.

Weinstein, detained in New York, is also appealing a rape conviction in Los Angeles.