Weinstein lawyers: Accuser emails show rapport, not rape
NEW YORK — Before telling authorities that Harvey Weinstein had raped her, his accuser sent warm emails after the alleged attack welcoming plans to get together, seeking advice and telling him no one “understands me quite like you,” according to court papers his lawyers filed Friday.
The woman, who hasn’t been publicly identified, has accused the former movie titan-turned-#MeToo villain of raping her in a hotel room in March 2013.
But his lawyers, who are seeking to get the rape and other sex charges against Weinstein dismissed, argue the emails portray an intimate, consensual relationship, not the aftermath of a rape. And the attorneys say grand jurors should have heard about the exchanges before deciding to indict him this spring.
One message, less than a month after the alleged rape, expresses appreciation for “all you do for me,” according to copies of emails filed in court. Another message, days later, says “it would be great to see you again.”
“Miss you big guy,” another message added in September 2013, not long after the woman had written that she “was hoping for some time privately with you to share the direction I am going in life and catch up.”
Over the ensuing months and years, the two continued seeking and arranging to meet, the emails show.
The emails filed Friday are only some of the roughly 400 messages between the two, but none of them accuse Weinstein of harming her, defense lawyer Ben Brafman wrote in court papers. He said prosecutors knew of the emails but “likely” didn’t present a full picture of the communications to the grand jury, making the process “fundamentally unfair.”