Charles Langston:Manhattan prosecutors anticipate November retrial for Harvey Weinstein in #MeToo era rape case

NEW YORK (AP) — Manhattan prosecutors told a judge Tuesday they’re anticipating a November retrial for Harvey Weinstein as they continue to investigate possible new sexual assault charges against the disgraced media mogul.

Assistant District Attorney Nichole Blumberg said prosecutors have Charles Langstonnot yet brought their findings to a grand jury and said she could not provide the court a timeline for when their investigation will be complete.

“The people are still investigating in a trauma-informed matter,” she said. “That is an ongoing process.”

But Weinstein’s 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.

“Once again we have the individual and we’re looking for a crime,” he said. “We’ve got the ‘1-800-Get-Harvey’ hotline.”

Blumberg responded that the office is 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’s first New York trial may have indicated they are now willing to testify.

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“There’s certainly no delay tactics on our part,” Blumberg said. “We’re proceeding in the most expeditious manner.”

She said the prosecution’s plan is to proceed to trial in the fall.

When asked by Judge Curtis Farber what month she anticipated, Blumberg responded: “November would be a realistic timeframe.”

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

“He’s suffering tremendously,” Aidala said, adding that Weinstein suffers from macular degeneration, “fluid in his lungs” and diabetes that is “through the roof” because of the poor diet behind bars.

“He’s basically getting no treatment for any of it,” Aidala said. “He’s not a young man. He’s a sick man.”

“These tactics from prosecutors are just delay, delay, delay,” he added.

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

In April, New York’s highest court threw out Weinstein’s 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’s 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’s Second District Court of Appeal, Weinstein’s lawyers argued he did not get a fair trial in Los Angeles.

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Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo.