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NYC prosecutors intend to bring new sexual assault charges against Harvey Weinstein ahead of retrial

Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on May 29, 2024. (Julia Nikhinson / AP Photo) Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on May 29, 2024. (Julia Nikhinson / AP Photo)
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NEW YORK -

Manhattan prosecutors said Tuesday that they intend to bring new sexual assault charges against Harvey Weinstein as they anticipate a November retrial for the disgraced media mogul.

Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg said in court that prosecutors are actively pursuing claims of rape that occurred in Manhattan within the statute of limitations.

She said some potential survivors that were not ready to step forward during Weinstein鈥檚 first New York trial have indicated they are now willing to testify.

But when pressed by the judge, Blumberg said prosecutors have not yet brought their findings to a grand jury. She also said she could not provide the court a timeline for when their investigation will be complete.

鈥淭he People are still investigating in a trauma-informed matter,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat is an ongoing process.鈥

Weinstein鈥檚 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.

鈥淥nce again we have the individual and we鈥檙e looking for a crime,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got the 鈥1-800-Get-Harvey鈥 hotline.鈥

Blumberg rejected the notion and said the prosecution鈥檚 plan is to proceed to trial in the fall.

鈥淭here鈥檚 certainly no delay tactics on our part,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e proceeding in the most expeditious manner.鈥

When asked by Judge Curtis Farber what month she anticipated, Blumberg responded: 鈥淣ovember would be a realistic timeframe.鈥

Aidala said his client simply wants to get the trial going as soon as possible, noting he鈥檚 in his fifth year of incarceration.

鈥淗e鈥檚 suffering tremendously,鈥 Aidala said, adding that Weinstein suffers from macular degeneration, fluid in his lungs and heart and diabetes that is 鈥渢hrough the roof鈥 because of the poor diet behind bars.

鈥淗e鈥檚 basically getting no treatment for any of it,鈥 Aidala said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 not a young man. He鈥檚 a sick man.鈥

鈥淭hese tactics from prosecutors are just delay, delay, delay,鈥 he added.

Judge Farber set the next pre-trial hearing for July 19.

Weinstein, 72, has maintained that any sexual activity was consensual. He鈥檚 currently in custody at the city鈥檚 Rikers Island jail complex but has suffered from medical problems throughout his time behind bars.

In April, New York鈥檚 highest court threw out Weinstein鈥檚 rape conviction after determining the trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against him based on allegations from other women that were not part of the case.

The ruling reopened a painful chapter in America鈥檚 reckoning with sexual misconduct by powerful figures. The #MeToo era began in 2017 with a flood of allegations against Weinstein.

Weinstein, who had been serving a 23-year sentence in New York, was also convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape and is still sentenced to 16 years in prison in California. But in an appeal filed last month in California鈥檚 Second District Court of Appeal, Weinstein鈥檚 lawyers argued he did not get a fair trial in Los Angeles.

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