Harvey Weinstein's accusers 'all said no,' prosecutor tells jury as rape retrial ends
+ He is accused of a 2013 rape and assaults in 2002 and 2006
+ Defense tells jurors the accusers lied on witness stand
+ Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction was overturned on appeal
New York, United States - A prosecutor on Wednesday told jurors in Harvey Weinstein's Manhattan retrial that the evidence clearly showed the former movie mogul raped three women, pushing back on a defense lawyer's efforts to paint the accusers as liars.
Prosecutor Nicole Blumberg picked up where she left off during closing arguments the previous day, seeking to show that Weinstein forced himself on the women despite their pleading with him to stop.
The Academy Award-winning producer and Miramax studio co-founder is accused of raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013 and assaulting the two other women in 2006 and 2002. Weinstein, who has denied ever having non-consensual sex or assaulting anyone, has pleaded not guilty. The trial began in April.
"Members of the jury, he raped three women. They all said, 'no,'" Blumberg said.
Weinstein, 73, is on trial for a second time after a New York state appeals court threw out his conviction in April 2024. Experiencing a litany of health problems, Weinstein was present in court on Wednesday in a wheelchair, wearing a dark suit and tie.
Before Blumberg's pitch to jurors Wednesday, defense lawyer Arthur Aidala twice moved for a mistrial based on the prosecutor's arguments the previous day, but the motions were swiftly denied by state Supreme Court Justice Curtis Farber.
The 12 jurors are due to begin deliberations after closing arguments are completed and Farber instructs them on the law.
Blumberg on Tuesday called Weinstein a serial predator who promised career advancement in Hollywood to women, only to then coax them into private settings where he attacked them. She urged jurors Wednesday to disregard the defense's claim the Weinstein was on trial because he was famous and that prosecutors were trying to criminalize consensual sex.
"We heard a lot about 'policing the bedroom' yesterday," Blumberg said, referring to Aidala's closing argument on Tuesday. "We don't want to police bedrooms either - unless you're forcibly raping someone inside them."
Aidala on Tuesday accused the three alleged victims of lying on the witness stand out of spite after consensual sexual encounters with Weinstein failed to deliver them Hollywood stardom.
"They are lying about what happened. Not about everything, but about a small slice - just enough to turn their regret, their buyers' remorse, into criminality," Aidala said of the accusers.
The lawyer hoisted a dozen poster-sized placards showing emails from the accusers where they seek Weinstein's company after the alleged attacks, saying they showed the women were lying.
Weinstein faces a maximum sentence of up to 29 years in prison if convicted on all charges. He already will likely spend the rest of his life in prison due to a 16-year prison sentence given to him after being found guilty in December 2022 of rape in California.
He was convicted of rape by a jury in the previous trial in Manhattan in February 2020, but the New York Court of Appeals threw out the conviction and ordered a new trial, citing errors by the trial judge. Weinstein had been serving a 23-year sentence in a prison in upstate Rome, New York, when the conviction was overturned.
That conviction was a milestone for the #MeToo movement, which encouraged women to come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct by powerful men. More than 100 women, including famous actresses, have accused Weinstein of misconduct.
Weinstein has been held at New York City's Rikers Island jail since his conviction was overturned. He has experienced several health scares while being held at Rikers, and in September was rushed to a hospital for emergency heart surgery.
Harvey Weinstein used Hollywood clout to abuse women, prosecutor tells jury Read full story
(Reporting by Jack Queen in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)
