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Harvey Weinstein: Los Angeles jury deadlocks on factors that could have increased his sentence

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CNN
 — 

After convicting former film producer Harvey Weinstein of rape and sexual assault, a Los Angeles jury could not reach a unanimous verdict Tuesday on alleged aggravating factors that could have increased his sentence.

The three charges Weinstein was convicted of – rape, sexual penetration by foreign object and forcible oral copulation – were all tied to one of his accusers, Jane Doe 1, a model and actress who testified the movie mogul assaulted her in a Beverly Hills hotel room in February 2013.

Jurors were asked to determine if Jane Doe 1 was harmed and particularly vulnerable, and if Weinstein committed the crimes with planning, professionalism, or sophistication.

Ten members of the jury found the aggravating factors had been met, but two jurors could not be swayed, one of the jurors told CNN.

“The jury has said they are not able to reach a unanimous verdict on these issues,” Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench said, according to a pool report. “I am going to declare a mistrial with respect to the allegations.”

Had the jury found Weinstein guilty of the aggravating factors, a new California law would have then allowed the judge to enact a harsher sentence.

Jurors had deliberated for several hours Tuesday. After the jury indicated further deliberations would not sway them, neither the prosecution or the defense pushed to have the jurors deliberate further.

When Lench asked prosecutor Paul Thompson if Weinstein will be retried on the deadlock counts, the pool report said he responded: “We need to consult the victims first and foremost.”

Weinstein’s sentencing was tentatively set for January 9, with Lench allowing only Jane Doe 1 to offer a victim impact statement. He is expected to serve 18 years.

“Harvey Weinstein forever destroyed a part of me that night in 2013. I will never get that back,” said Jane Doe 1 in a statement released through her attorney. “The criminal trial was brutal. Weinstein’s lawyers put me through hell on the witness stand. But I knew I had to see this through the end, and I did … I hope Harvey Weinstein never sees the outside of a prison cell during his lifetime.”

The disgraced movie mogul was found guilty Monday of three of seven charges against him in his second sexual assault trial. The jury acquitted Weinstein of one count of sexual battery by restraint against a massage therapist in a hotel room in 2010.

They were a hung jury on one count of sexual battery by restraint, one count of forcible oral copulation and one count of rape related to two other women – including Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a filmmaker and first partner to California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Weinstein had pleaded not guilty to all charges against him. His spokesman said he was “disappointed” with the outcome of the trial but “he is prepared to continue fighting for his innocence.”

The verdict was reached as jurors entered their third week of deliberations, meeting for a total of 41 hours over a period of 10 days following weeks of oftentimes emotional testimony.

Two jurors who spoke with CNN after they were dismissed from court Tuesday shared their thoughts on the trial, both saying politics played absolutely no role in their deliberations.

“Everyone realized the weight of this trial. There’s a lot riding on this for both sides,” said Michael, a 62-year-old juror who declined to share his last name.

Michael said the contact the accusers had with Weinstein following their alleged assaults was a key factor in deciding the verdict. That was specifically applied to Siebel Newsom, who, according to dozens of emails presented as evidence in the trial, maintained contact with Weinstein.

Michael said he found Jane Doe 1 to be the most convincing.

“We felt horrible for everybody,” but felt like the addition of uncharged witnesses became confusing for some jurors, said Jay, another juror who also declined to share his last name.

“Everybody seemed believable. It’s hard to prove all of them with time and memory,” Jay added.

Elizabeth Fegan, an attorney representing Siebel Newsom, who was identified in court as Jane Doe 4, said they were disappointed the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on the charges related to her client.

“My client, Jane Doe 4, shared her story not with an expectation to testify but to support all the survivors who bravely came forward,” Fegan said in a statement to CNN. “While we are heartened that the jury found Weinstein guilty on some of the counts, we are disappointed that the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on Jane Doe 4. She will continue to fight for all women and all survivors of abuse against a system that permits the victim to be shamed and re-traumatized in the name of justice.”

Weinstein is two years into a 23-year sentence for a 2020 New York conviction, which his attorneys have appealed, putting more attention on the outcome of the trial in Los Angeles.

The weekslong Los Angeles trial saw emotional testimony from Weinstein’s accusers – a model, a dancer, a massage therapist and Siebel Newsom – all of whom were asked to recount the details of their allegations against him, provide details of meetings with the producer from years ago, and explain their reactions to the alleged assaults.

Additionally, four women testified they were subjected to similar behavior by Weinstein in other jurisdictions.

Weinstein initially faced 11 charges, but four counts connected to an unnamed woman were dropped without explanation. She did not testify in the trial.

In closing arguments, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Marlene Martinez called Weinstein a “titan” who used his power in Hollywood to prey on and silence women.

Meanwhile, Weinstein’s attorneys maintained the allegations are either fabricated or occurred consensually as part of a “transactional relationship” with the movie producer, repeatedly saying there is no evidence of assault.

Defense attorney Alan Jackson called the accusers “fame and fortune seekers.”

Jane Doe 2, who was identified as Lauren Young, told her attorney Gloria Allred by phone that she was happy Weinstein was convicted on some counts despite there being a mistrial on her count, Allred said in a news conference after the verdict.

“I am relieved that Harvey Weinstein has been convicted because he deserves to be punished for the crimes that he committed, and he can no longer use his power to intimidate and sexually assault more women,” Young said in a statement read by Allred.

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Harvey Weinstein: Jury reaches verdict in sexual assault trial

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CNN
 — 

[Breaking news update, published at 6:05 p.m. ET]

A Los Angeles jury reached a verdict Monday in the sexual assault trial of Harvey Weinstein, the former movie producer who is accused of using his Hollywood influence to lure women into private meetings and assault them. The verdict will be announced shortly.

Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to seven charges in all: two counts each of forcible rape, sexual battery by restraint and forcible oral copulation, and one count of sexual penetration by foreign object.

If found guilty, Weinstein could face 60 years to life in prison, plus an additional five years.

The verdict was reached as jurors entered their third week of deliberations, meeting for a total of 41 hours over a period of 10 days.

Weinstein was convicted of similar charges in New York in 2020 and was sentenced to 23 years in prison.

[Original story, published at 2:02 p.m. ET]

A Los Angeles jury resumed deliberations Monday in Harvey Weinstein’s second sexual assault trial, meeting for a tenth day to decide on a verdict after weeks of testimony.

The disgraced movie mogul, who is accused of using his Hollywood influence to lure women into private meetings and assault them, awaits a decision from behind bars.

Weinstein faces two counts of forcible rape and five counts of sexual assault related to accusations from four women, including Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a filmmaker and the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who alleged Weinstein raped her in a hotel room in 2005.

Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to all seven charges against him. He initially faced 11 charges, but four counts connected to an unnamed woman were dropped after she did not testify.

The jury had already deliberated for about 37 total hours when they adjourned last Wednesday, without a verdict reached.

The former film producer is already serving a 23-year sentence for a New York sexual assault conviction. His attorneys have appealed that conviction, which has placed more attention on the outcome of the trial in Los Angeles.

If the jury in Los Angeles finds him guilty, Weinstein could face 60 years to life in prison, plus an additional five years.

The Los Angeles jury has deliberated longer than the New York jury in Weinstein’s first criminal trial, in which he was convicted of criminal sex act and third-degree rape after 26 hours of deliberations.

As deliberations went on in Los Angeles, the jury asked the court a question and at least twice asked for testimony to be read back. Los Angeles Superior Court officials have not provided specifics on those requests.

The weekslong Los Angeles trial saw emotional testimony from Weinstein’s accusers – a model, a dancer, a massage therapist and Siebel Newsom – all of whom were asked to recount the details of their allegations against him, provide details of meetings with the producer from years ago, and explain their reactions to the alleged assaults.

In closing arguments, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Marlene Martinez called Weinstein a “titan” who used his power in Hollywood to prey on and silence women.

“Rapists rape. You can look at the pattern,” fellow prosecutor Paul Thompson told jurors.

“You have irrefutable, overwhelming evidence about the nature of this man and what he did to these women,” Thompson said.

Meanwhile, Weinstein’s attorneys have maintained the allegations are either fabricated or occurred consensually as part of a “transactional relationship” with the movie producer, repeatedly saying there is no evidence of assault.

Defense attorney Alan Jackson called the accusers “fame and fortune seekers.”

The trial in Los Angeles included testimony from the four accusers identified as Jane Does in court, and other witnesses, including experts, law enforcement, friends of accusers and former aides to Weinstein.

Additionally, four women testified they were subjected to similar behavior by Weinstein in other jurisdictions.

Each morning at trial, Weinstein was brought from a correctional facility and wheeled into the Los Angeles courtroom wearing a suit and tie and holding a composition notebook.

His accusers all began their oftentimes emotional testimonies by identifying him in the courtroom as he looked on.

“He’s wearing a suit, and a blue tie and he’s staring at me,” Siebel Newsom said last month, before what was one of the most emotional moments of the trial.

On Thursday of last week, defense attorney Jackson asked jurors if they could “accept what (the Jane Does) say as gospel,” arguing what they said was a lack of forensic evidence supporting their claim.

“Five words that sum up the entirety of the prosecution’s case: ‘Take my word for it,’” Jackson said. “‘Take my word for it that he showed up at my hotel room unannounced. Take my word for it that I showed up at his hotel room. Take my word for it that I didn’t consent. Take my word for it, that I said no.’ “

Siebel Newsom described an hourslong “cat-and-mouse period,” which preceded her alleged assault. She, like other accusers, described feeling “frozen” that day.

Attorneys for Weinstein do not deny the incident occurred, but said he believed it was consensual.

Jackson called the incident “consensual, transactional sex,” adding: “Regret is not the same thing as rape. And it’s important we make that distinction in this courtroom.”

Women’s rights lawyer Gloria Allred, who is representing Jane Doe 2 in the case, told CNN she hopes the jury sees her client “has no motive at all to do anything but tell the truth.”

“She never sought or received any compensation … She doesn’t live in California anymore. But she is testifying because she’s been asked to testify and I hope that they see her as the young woman that she was when she met Harvey Weinstein, and the woman that she is today approximately nine to 10 years later. Her life has changed,” Allred said.

“To be willing to subject yourself to what could be a very brutal cross-examination. That takes a very special person to do that. And she is a special person. I’m very proud,” Allred said.

In her closing arguments, Martinez also highlighted the women who testified chose to do so despite knowing they would face tough conditions in court.

“The truth is that, as you sit here, we know the despicable behavior the defendant engaged in. He thought he was so powerful that people would … excuse his behavior,” Martinez said. “That’s just Harvey being Harvey. That’s just Hollywood. And for so long that’s what everyone did. Everyone just turned their heads.”

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Jennifer Siebel Newsom takes stand at Weinstein trial

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker and the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, nearly screamed through tears from the witness stand Monday when she told the court Harvey Weinstein raped her in a hotel room and spoke of the devastating effect it had on her in the 17 years since.

“He knows this is not normal!” she shouted during the Los Angeles trial, recalling her thoughts amid the alleged 2005 rape. “He knows this is not consent!”

She then shouted “Oh God!” as if overcome by the memory, and gave in to the crying. Weinstein watched from the defense table.

Siebel Newsom said she found herself unexpectedly alone with Weinstein in a suite at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, where she had agreed to join him for a meeting. She said she assumed others would be present and they would talk about her career.

When he emerged from the bathroom in a robe with nothing underneath and began groping her while he masturbated, she described her feelings.

“Horror! Horror!” she said. “I’m trembling. I’m like a rock, I’m frigid. This is my worst nightmare. I’m just this blow-up doll!”

She then gave a graphic description of a sexual assault and rape by Weinstein in the suite’s bedroom.

Weinstein’s lawyers, who only got to cross-examine her briefly and will continue on Tuesday, say the two had consensual sex and that she was seeking to use the powerful producer to advance her career.

Weinstein is already serving a 23-year sentence for a rape conviction in New York, and has pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of rape and sexual assault in California involving five women.

Siebel Newsom is the fourth woman Weinstein is accused of sexually assaulting who has taken the stand in Los Angeles. Her testimony was the most dramatic and emotional so far in the three-week trial. She cried throughout her 2 1/2 hours on the stand, beginning with when she was asked to identify the 70-year-old Weinstein for the record.

“He’s wearing a suit, and a blue tie, and he’s staring at me,” she said as tears began to flow.

Now 48, Siebel Newsom described how Weinstein first approached her to introduce himself at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2005. At the time, she was a producer and actor with only a few small roles, and he was at the height of his Hollywood power.

“It felt like the Red Sea was parting,” she said as she watched others in the room make way for him. “I don’t know if it was deference or fear.”

But she said when they had a drink later in the day he was “charming” and showed “a genuine interest in talking about my work.”

He was in the Los Angeles area a few weeks later, stopping by her home during a small party to drop off a gift and inviting her to the hotel meeting.

She described how nervous she was after being directed to his hotel suite. Asked by Deputy District Attorney Marlene Martinez why she didn’t walk away, she said: “Because you don’t say no to Harvey Weinstein.”

“He could make or ruin your career,” she said.

Afterward, she said she felt “so much shame.”

“I was so violated and I don’t know how that happened,” she said, sobbing. “I didn’t see the clues and I didn’t know how to escape.”

Siebel Newsom is known as Jane Doe #4 at the trial, and like the others Weinstein is charged with raping or sexually assaulting, her name is not being spoken in court. But both the prosecution and the defense have identified her as the governor’s wife during the trial, and Siebel Newsom’s attorney confirmed to The Associated Press and other news outlets that she is Jane Doe #4.

The AP does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they have come forward publicly.

Weinstein has had many famous accusers, including A-list actors, since he became a magnet for the #MeToo movement in 2017. But none of the women telling their stories at the trial have had anywhere near the prominence of Siebel Newsom — spouse of the man who last week sailed to a second term as governor of the nation’s most populous state, and may make a run for the White House. The governor was not in the courtroom Monday.

During cross-examination, Weinstein attorney Mark Werksman pressed Siebel Newsom repeatedly about when she told her husband about the assault, pointing out in a transcript of a 2020 interview with prosecutors that she said Newsom was “maybe” the first person she told. The lawyer was the first to say the name “Gavin Newsom” during the testimony, and repeated it often.

She said she “dropped hints along the way” through the years after meeting him when he was San Francisco mayor. And he got the full account when women’s stories about Weinstein became widespread in 2017. He would return former political donations from Weinstein then.

Werksman suggested that the couple sought the donations from Weinstein at a time when Newsom must have known her story.

He took money “from somebody you hinted had done something despicable to you?” Werksman asked.

“It’s complex,” Siebel Newsom responded.

“Well is that just politics,” Werksman asked, “that you just take money from someone who has done something despicable to your wife unless everybody finds out about it?”

Siebel Newsom denied the suggestion from Werksman that new elements of the alleged assault that she had not described in interviews with prosecutors or grand jury testimony came up for the first time in her testimony Tuesday.

He said he wanted to know why her story changed.

“We all heard you being very emotional,” he said. “You’ve had a lot of time to think about it in the past 17 years.”

Siebel Newsom said she had spent much of that time trying not to think about it.

“It’s very traumatic, sir,” she said.

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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: twitter.com/andyjamesdalton

___

For more on the Harvey Weinstein trial, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/harvey-weinstein



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Carey Mulligan felt ‘weight of responsibility’ for character and Weinstein victims in She Said

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Carey Mulligan plays one of the two New York Times journalists who exposed the sexual abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein in the new film She Said.

And in a recent interview at the Los Angeles premiere, the British actress confessed to feeling a ‘weight of responsibility’ to do her real-life character justice, as well as the victims of Weinstein.

It tuns out this is the first time Mulligan has ever played a person who is still alive.

Heavy role: Carey Mulligan, 37, confessed she felt the ‘weight of responsibility’ playing one of the two New York Times journalists who exposed the sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein while shooting the biographical drama film She Said; actress is pictured at premiere of She Said in London on October 14

The Oscar-nominated actress portrays Megan Twohey, who along with her NYT colleague Jodi Kantor, played by Zoe Kazan, broke the Weinstein story in 2017.

Their investigative work ended up exposing the powerful film producer’s history of abuse and sexual misconduct against women, which is said to have gone on for three decades.

The allegations also served as a catalyst for the burgeoning #MeToo movement and eventually resulted in Weinstein being sentenced to 23 years in prison, although he could be facing more prison time with a new trial in Los Angeles and more sexual assault charges in London.

Directed by Maria Schrader from a screenplay written by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, She Said is based on the book of the same name by the two journalists that was released in 2019.

In She Said, Mulligan (left) plays Megan Twohey and Zoe Kazan portrays Jodi Kantor, the two journalists who broke the Weinstein story in 2017 and then chronicled their investigative work in a book of the same name that was released two years later

Challenging: ‘I think we felt that weight of responsibility,’ the British actress said of playing a real-life character, all while having the real victims still fresh in her mind

‘I think we felt that weight of responsibility, and I felt that on other jobs,’ Mulligan, 37, said of her role within a story that’s still so fresh in people’s minds. ‘I think particularly when you play a real person, you have that, but the stories that we were telling are so real and so recent, and not just to the people that were involved in the film, but to viewers, to an audience.’

She added, ‘You’re aware that this story will impact people who go and see it in the cinema, so I think we all felt like it was a big task and we took it very seriously.’

The film not only lays out the details of how the two journalists broke the Weinstein story, but also how the story has impacted their lives.

In order to get an up-close look at both sides of that story, Mulligan was able to meet Twohey and get ‘unfettered access’ to her life. While spending quality time together, the two ladies ended up hitting it off and bonding with each other.

‘I’ve never played a person who’s still alive,’ the London, England native said. ‘I played real people, but I’ve been reading autobiographies, so this was really exciting, and she’s just the coolest person. So I wanted to be her friend. I wanted her to like me.’

Twohey and Kantor ended up winning a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting on the Weinstein case.

Acclaimed real-life journalists: Jodi Kantor (left )and Megan Twohey (right) ended up winning a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting on the Weinstein case

In all, more than 80 women came forward and made allegations of sexual harassment and/or rape against Weinstein. Initially, he was convicted on charges of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape in New York in 2020, and was sentenced to 23 years in prison.

He is currently on trial in Los Angeles for other sexual assault claims as he prepares to face more charges in London. 

Along with Mulligan and Kazan, the film also stars Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Morton, Ashley Judd, Sean Cullen, Angela Yeoh. Tom Pelphrey, Adam Shapiro, Anastasia Barzee, James Austin Johnson, Kelly McQuail, Sarah Ann Masse, and Mike Houston as Harvey Weinstein. 

After making its premiere at the 60th New York Film Festival on October 13, and the BFI London Film Festival the following day, the film debuted in Los Angeles at the 2022 AFI Fest on Friday, November 4.

She Said is scheduled to hit theaters across the U.S. on November 18.

Making a splash: After making its premiere at the 60th New York Film Festival on October 13, She Said is slated to hit theaters across the U.S. on November 18; Mulligan and Kazan are pictured in a scene from She Said

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Harvey Weinstein’s ‘deformed’ genitalia shown to jury in LA sex crimes trial

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The jury on Harvey Weinstein’s Los Angeles sex crimes trial was shown photos of the disgraced Hollywood movie mogul’s genitalia on Friday.

The images were included in an envelope of other photos and reports presented to the 12-member jury in a private room at Los Angeles Superior Court.

The array of documents was submitted as an exhibit in Weinstein’s trial over 11 counts of rape and sexual assault involving five women between 2003 and 2014.

The convicted pervert’s private parts are at the center of Weinstein’s latest trial.

The disgraced film producer sustained scarring and alterations in his genitalia from a 1999 surgery to remedy Fournier’s Gangrene, prosecutors said. Doctors removed some of Weinstein’s scrotum and placed them into his thighs.

“That surgery caused pretty noticeable scarring, and you’ll see the pictures,” Deputy District Attorney Paul Thompson said on Monday.

Harvey Weinstein allegedly masturbated on an actress’ face in 2003.
AP

His lawyer grilled a victim Wednesday for supposedly lying about Weinstein’s testicles and forced her to go into detail on their appearance. The unnamed victim, who alleges she was assaulted in 2013, told jurors Weinstein had “problems with testicles” and that they were “part of him,” the Daily Beast reported.

The images were presented just one day after a “Dirty Dancing 2” actress testified that Weinstein masturbated on her face in 2003 while his assistant waited outside a hotel room after demanding she give him a “naked massage.”

The then-22-year-old said Weinstein shoved her onto the bed, but never saw Weinstein’s genitalia.

With Post wires

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Harvey Weinstein’s Los Angeles Rape Trial Chair Moved After He Stared Down Jury

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Harvey Weinstein was forced to move his seat at his Los Angeles sex crimes trial on Wednesday after a sheriff’s deputy said he was staring at the jury.

The 70-year-old on trial for allegedly sexually abusing five women between 2003 and 2014 was improperly sitting at the defense table—allowing him to look directly at the 12 individuals in the jury box, according to The Wrap. The alleged staring occurred as the first of the eight women set to testify against Weinstein said he raped her inside a Beverly Hills hotel room in 2013.

The assault, she said, included Weinstein forcing her to perform oral sex before he made her go into the bathroom—where he attempted to penetrate her vagina with his fingers and penis before eventually masturbating after having “trouble with an erection.” The woman, identified in court as Jane Doe 1, said that Weinstein threatened her afterward, telling her: “You don’t know me.”

Weinstein’s lawyer on Wednesday insisted their client was not doing anything wrong and asked the judge to allow him to stay seated alongside the table because his wheelchair took up a lot of space. The request was denied and Weinstein was forced to move out of the jury’s eye line, though The Wrap reported he almost immediately resumed staring their way.

A Weinstein spokesperson hit back at claims that the toppled Hollywood titan was intentionally staring at anyone.

“Harvey is wheeled in with help, helped by the guards or lawyers into a stationary chair, and that is where he sits,” Juda Engelmayer told The Daily Beast on Thursday. “He is trying to not make eye contact with the jury; he is afraid to look at them and feels uneasy about it, imagining what they might be thinking about him.”

The spokesperson added that Weinstein “has been feeling confident, but uneasy” about his second sex-crimes trial. Engelmayer went on to suggest prosecutors were using issues—like Weinstein staring at jurors—to bolster their case portraying Weinstein as a powerful man who systematically assaulted women and attempted to silence them.

Already convicted of sex crimes in New York, Weinstein is serving a 23-year sentence in the Empire State—though the case is on appeal.

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Harvey Weinstein’s 2nd sexual assault trial begins with eight accusers set to testify, prosecutors say

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CNN
 — 

Eight women who say they were sexually assaulted by movie producer Harvey Weinstein will testify at his criminal trial in Los Angeles over the coming weeks, prosecutors said in opening statements Monday.

“Each of these women came forward independent of each other, and none of them knew one another,” prosecutor Paul Thompson told the jury, according to a pool report.

Four of the women’s testimony will be directly connected to specific charges. These women include Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a filmmaker and the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom; Jane Doe 1, a model and actress who lived in Italy at the time; Jane Doe 2, a 23-year-old model and aspiring screenwriter; and Jane Doe 3, a licensed massage therapist, according to a pool report.

The most recent indictment in the case indicated there were five women directly connected to charges. CNN is working to clarify the difference between that indictment and the prosecutors’ opening statements.

In addition, four women will testify as “prior bad acts” witnesses, meaning their testimony isn’t related to a specific charge but can be used by the jury as prosecutors try to show Weinstein had a pattern in his actions. These women will testify about assaults outside of Los Angeles jurisdiction, Thompson said.

Weinstein, 70, has pleaded not guilty to charges including rape and forcible oral copulation related to incidents dating from 2004 to 2013, according to the indictment.

In court Monday, he appeared hunched over as he clambered from a wheelchair into a chair at the defense table. Wearing a suit and tie, he primarily looked at jurors throughout the proceedings.

The trial in California is his second such sexual assault case since reporting by The New York Times and The New Yorker in 2017 revealed Weinstein’s alleged history of sexual abuse, harassment and secret settlements as he used his influence as a Hollywood power broker to take advantage of young women.

At the time, Weinstein was one of the most powerful men in Hollywood and helped produce movies such as “Pulp Fiction,” “Clerks” and “Shakespeare in Love.”

The revelations led to a wave of women speaking publicly about the pervasiveness of sexual abuse and harassment in what became known as the #MeToo movement.

Weinstein was found guilty in 2020 in New York of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape and was sentenced to 23 years in prison. Yet he has maintained his innocence, and New York’s highest court agreed in August to hear his appeal in the case.

In opening statements, Thompson outlined the women’s accusations and noted the similarities in their stories. The women will testify that Weinstein lured them into private meetings, often in hotel rooms, and then sexually assaulted them, Thompson said.

“I’m shaking and I’m kind of being dragged to the bedroom,” he quoted one woman as saying, according to the pool report.

Thompson also highlighted the women’s understanding of Weinstein’s imposing physical size as well as his power in Hollywood to make or break careers, the pool report said.

“I was scared that if I didn’t play nice something could happen in the room or out of the room because of his power in the industry,” one woman said, according to Thompson.

The women allegedly told friends and family members about their assaults, and those people may also be called to testify in the trial to confirm or deny such conversations.

Notably, the licensed massage therapist told Mel Gibson, the famed actor and director, about her assault, Thompson said.

The trial in Los Angeles comes two years after Weinstein was convicted in New York of similar charges featuring different women.

The New York charges were based on testimony from Miriam Haley, who testified that Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her in 2006 at his Manhattan apartment, and from Jessica Mann, who testified that he raped her in 2013 during what she described as an abusive relationship.

He did not testify in his own defense, but at his sentencing he offered an unexpected, rambling speech which oscillated between remorse, defense of his actions and confusion.

“I’m not going to say these aren’t great people, I had wonderful times with these people, you know,” Weinstein said of the women who accused him of assault. “It is just I’m totally confused, and I think men are confused about all of these issues.”

The former movie producer appeared in frail health during the trial and used a walker as he arrived to and left court each day. He used a wheelchair to arrive to the sentencing in March 2020 as well as in a court hearing in Los Angeles in July 2021. His attorneys have argued the lengthy prison sentence was a de facto life sentence due to his failing health.

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In a #MeToo moment, Hollywood figures face season of trials

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NEW YORK (AP) — The #MeToo movement is having another moment in the spotlight as high-profile sexual assault trials play out in courtrooms from coast to coast.

Five years after allegations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein triggered a wave of sexual misconduct claims in Hollywood and beyond, he and “That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson are fighting criminal rape charges at trials down the hall from each other in Los Angeles.

In New York, trials are underway in sexual assault lawsuits against actor Kevin Spacey and screenwriter-director Paul Haggis, both Oscar winners. Spacey’s defense rested Wednesday while lawyers for Haggis and his accuser gave opening statements in an adjacent courthouse. All of the men deny the allegations.

A forcible touching case against another Academy Award winner, actor Cuba Gooding Jr., wrapped up in New York last week with a guilty plea to a non-criminal harassment violation and no jail time, to the dismay of at least some of his accusers.

The confluence is a coincidence, but a striking one, amid a cultural movement that has demanded visibility and accountability.

“We’re still very early on in this time of reckoning,” said Debra Katz, a Washington-based lawyer who has represented many sexual assault accusers. She isn’t involved in the Haggis, Masterson, Spacey or Weinstein trials.

Besides their #MeToo reverberations, both Haggis’ case and Masterson’s have become forums for scrutinizing the Church of Scientology, though from different perspectives.

In the case against Haggis, publicist Haleigh Breest claims that the “Crash” and “Million Dollar Baby” screenwriter forced her to perform oral sex and raped her after she reluctantly agreed to a drink in his Manhattan apartment after a 2013 movie premiere. She’s seeking unspecified damages.

She didn’t go public until after the allegations against Weinstein burst into view in 2017 and Haggis condemned him.

“The hypocrisy of it made her blood boil,” lawyer Zoe Salzman said in her opening statement.

Jurors will also hear from four other women who told Breest’s lawyers that Haggis sexually assaulted them, or attempted to do so, in separate encounters. One of them testified Wednesday, via videotaped questioning, that Haggis raped her during an after-hours meeting in her office in 1996, when both worked on a Canadian TV show.

The jury won’t hear, however, that Italian authorities this summer investigated a sexual assault allegation against Haggis, which he denied.

Haggis maintains that his encounter with Breest was consensual, and defense attorney Priya Chaudhry noted that the other women who are set to testify never took legal action of their own against him.

“Paul Haggis is relieved that he finally gets his day in court,” Chaudhry told jurors.

Both sides pointed to what Breest texted to a friend the day after the alleged attack.

Her lawyer emphasized that Breest wrote that “he was so rough and aggressive. Never, ever again … And I kept saying no.” Haggis’ attorney, meanwhile, said Breest added “lol” — common texting shorthand for laughter — when she mentioned performing oral sex, and that she told the friend she wanted to be alone with Haggis again to “see what happens.”

Chaudhry argued that Breest falsely claimed rape to angle for a payout. But the attorney also suggested another explanation for the allegations.

Promising “circumstantial evidence,” she suggested that Scientologists ginned up Breest’s lawsuit to discredit him after he became a prominent detractor.

The church denies any involvement, and Breest’s lawyers have called the notion a baseless conspiracy theory.

“Scientology has nothing to do with this case” or with any of Haggis’ accusers, she told jurors. The church has said the same.

Scientology is a system of beliefs, teachings and rituals focused on spiritual betterment. Science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard’s 1950 book “Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health” is a foundational text.

The religion has gained a following among such celebrities as Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Kirstie Alley. But some high-profile members have broken with it, including Haggis, singer Lisa Marie Presley and actor Leah Remini. In a memoir and documentary series, Remini said the church uses manipulative and abusive tactics to indoctrinate followers into putting its goals above all else, and she maintained that it worked to discredit critics who spoke out.

The church has vociferously disputed the claims.

Haggis says he was a Scientologist for three decades before leaving the church in 2009. He slammed it as “a cult” in a 2011 New Yorker article that later informed a book and an HBO documentary, and he foreshadowed that retribution would come in the form of “a scandal that looks like it has nothing to do with the church.”

The church, which didn’t respond to a request for comment this week, has repeatedly said Haggis lied about its practices to get attention for himself and his career.

Masterson’s lawyer, meanwhile, is asking jurors to disregard the actor’s affiliation with Scientology, though prosecutors say the church discouraged two of his three accusers from going to authorities. All three are former members.

Closing arguments are scheduled for Thursday in a $40 million lawsuit brought by actor Anthony Rapp who says Spacey made a sexual pass at him in 1986, when Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26. Spacey denies the encounter ever happened.

Weinstein is facing his second criminal trial, this time set in L.A. and involving five women and multiple rape and sexual assault charges. He is already serving a 23-year prison sentence on a rape and sex assault conviction involving two women in New York.

The Associated Press does not usually name people alleging sexual assault unless they come forward publicly, as Breest and Rapp have done.

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Associated Press writers Larry Neumeister in New York and Deepa Bharath in Los Angeles contributed.

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Harvey Weinstein lawyers claim he faces ‘almost medieval’ conditions in cell

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Harvey Weinstein’s holding cell is so revolting his lawyer argued the ex-movie mogul is facing “almost medieval” conditions where he’s detained after court during his Los Angeles sexual assault trial.

Attorney Mark Werksman in his pleas to a judge Tuesday even suggested his disgraced client did not have a place to go to the bathroom – an assertion quickly shot down by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa B. Lench.

The complaints come on the second day of jury selection where Weinstein faces 11 counts of rape and sexual assault.

“It’s almost medieval, the conditions,” Werksman said. “He’s 70-years-old. I’m worried about him surviving this ordeal without a heart attack or stroke.”

The lawyer also said the cell was “unhygienic” and claimed he was left alone for three to four hours in his wheelchair in the “unsanitary, fetid” holding cell at the courthouse before he was brought back to jail.

Lench said she would discuss the conditions with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, but warned there was little she could do.

Harvey Weinstein’s defense team has mentioned his health several times during court appearances.
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“I’m not minimizing it, I’m just not sure there’s a lot to be done,” she said.

The complaints by Werksman were lodged before Weinstein and 71 possible jurors entered the courtroom.

When Weinstein, 70, rolled in and climbed into his seat at the defense table, Werksman repeated his concerns and suggested Weinstein lacked a toilet in the cell, a notion the judge quickly dismissed.

“He’s not deprived of a toilet, there is a toilet in the cell,” Lench said. “I’m not going to let the record reflect that he’s deprived of a toilet.”

Werksman then walked back the insinuation, but argued, “It is unhygienic, it is virtually unusable, it is medieval.”

Weinstein’s defense team has pointed out his poor health on many occasions during both his New York trial and the pre-trial hearings on the west coast.

He was convicted of rape and sexual assault in New York in February 2020 and was sentenced to 23 years in prison. But the state’s Court of Appeals agreed to hear Weinstein’s appeal on the guilty verdict.

The pale and frail man – a far cry from the towering figure he once was in the film industry –  was hospitalized with chest pains and underwent a heart procedure after he was found guilty in 2020. He also contracted COVID-19 at one point in the first weeks of the pandemic in the US and suffers from diabetes, his lawyers have said.

Opening statements in the Los Angeles trial are expected to begin later this month – five years after bombshell reports of sexual misconduct ended his storied career at the height of the #MeToo movement.

The Oscar-winning ex-film producer faces four counts of rape and seven counts of sexual assault from five women in LA. 

With Post wires

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Jennifer Siebel Newsom, wife on Gov. Gavin Newsom, to testify in Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault trial in Los Angeles

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LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker and actor who is the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, is among the accusers of Harvey Weinstein who will testify at his rape and sexual assault trial that began Monday, her attorney said.

The 70-year-old former film producer has already been convicted of rape and other sex crimes in New York. Now he’ll go on trial for similar charges in L.A., years after allegations that helped spark the #MeToo Movement in Hollywood.

Jury selection began Monday on rape and other sex-related counts involving five women who have said Weinstein attacked them in luxury hotels between 2004 and 2013.

All five of Weinstein’s accusers are expected to testify, as well as several other women whose accusations are not part of the criminal charges. However, they are expected to describe Weinstein’s past behavior.

ABC News confirmed one of those women is California’s First Partner.

“Like many other women, my client was sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein at a purported business meeting that turned out to be a trap,” Siebel Newsom’s attorney, Beth Fegan, said in a statement. “She intends to testify at his trial in order to seek some measure of justice for survivors, and as part of her life’s work to improve the lives of women. Please respect her choice to not discuss this matter outside of the courtroom.”

To stand trial, Weinstein was extradited from New York, where he has already served two years of a 23-year sentence for sex crimes. That case is being appealed.

The #MeToo Movement gained momentum about five years ago after dozens of women accused Weinstein of sexual harassment and assault.

The multiple accusations over a period of time will help make the prosecution’s case stronger, according to one legal analyst.

“That’s going to be one of the strongest arguments for the prosecution,” said attorney and analyst Lou Shapiro. “It’s called pattern evidence. It’s not just one person coming across on this, it’s several people who don’t know each other. What are the chances of different people from different locations, different time periods all having similar stories? It’s not just a coincidence.”

If convicted of the Los Angeles charges, Weinstein faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison.

Because of the public’s awareness of Weinstein and the accusations against him, jury selection could take two weeks, with the trial itself estimated to take about two months. No cameras will be allowed in the courtroom.

Before his downfall, Weinstein was seen as one of the most influential and successful film producers in Hollywood, with his company putting out Oscar winners and highly regarded classics such as “Shakespeare in Love” and “Pulp Fiction.”

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