Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer will seek to dismiss sexual assault charges in New York
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer plans on Friday to ask a judge in Manhattan to dismiss the sexual assault charges against him, arguing that prosecutors failed to show grand jurors emails detailing a long-term romantic relationship between the producer and one of his accusers.
Weinstein was indicted in May and again in July on charges that he assaulted three women. He has pleaded not guilty and is free on $1-million bail and GPS monitoring.
According to criminal attorney Benjamin Brafman, all the relationships between Weinstein and his accusers were consensual. He will seek to invalidate a 2013 first-degree rape charge involving one unidentified woman because she continued to date Weinstein after the alleged attack — a fact the lawyer says is supported by several dozen emails sent and received through the movie mogul’s Weinstein Co. account.
In a bankruptcy court filing in Delaware this week related to the dissolution of Weinstein Co., his lawyers argued that “it is Mr. Weinstein’s belief that these e-mails are material and exculpatory and the failure of the district attorney to provide this evidence to the grand jury warrants a dismissal of the indictment.”
Friday is the deadline to file a pre-trial motion in New York.
When Weinstein was fired by his company, the emails were turned over to his legal team. But the bankruptcy judge later issued a protective order forbidding their dissemination in order to shield his accuser. On Thursday, the judge ruled Weinstein’s team could use the emails in the New York criminal case if they did not reveal the woman’s name.
In addition to the charges in New York, Weinstein is the subject of more than a dozen investigations in London, Beverly Hills and Los Angeles. The Los Angeles County district attorney is reviewing criminal accusations against the producer lodged with law enforcement authorities in Los Angeles Police and Beverly Hills, including an Italian actress’ allegations of rape.
Twitter: @lacrimes
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