Weinstein lawyer builds defense
Brafman: Email traffic, witnesses support his client
NEW YORK — Moving beyond rote denials, Harvey Weinstein is playing a leading role in shaping what his lawyer said Monday will be an aggressive defense to sexual assault charges that could put him in prison for the rest of his life.
Lawyer Ben Brafman said the movie mogul-turned-#metoo villain is essentially working as his paralegal and that they’re stacking up “overwhelming evidence” from email traffic and witness accounts to refute allegations that, so far, have led to criminal charges involving three of the dozens of women who’ve accused Weinstein of wrongdoing.
“I can tell you that we are no longer simply relying on Mr. Weinstein’s denials,” Brafman said outside a New York City courthouse after Weinstein pleaded not guilty to new charges alleging he performed a forcible sex act on a woman in 2006.
“We have corroborative evidence in the form of witnesses, we have corroborative evidence, overwhelming evidence, in the form of email traffic. And the suggestion that Mr. Weinstein raped anyone, just based on what I’ve seen, just based on the evidence I’ve seen, is just a preposterous allegation,” Brafman said.
A judge released Weinstein on the same $1 million bail he posted at his first arraignment involving two other accusers and was allowed to return to his Westport, Connecticut home. He’s due back in court on Sept. 20.
Prosecutors, saying the new charges are “significantly more serious,” had sought to have Weinstein placed on house arrest in Manhattan.
Weinstein, 66, hobbled into the courtroom with his hands cuffed behind his back. He was uncuffed for the proceeding and didn’t say much other than entering his plea.
He left court a few minutes later, trailed by a bulky bodyguard. Weinstein suddenly turned back in a panic about the whereabouts of his wallet. Brafman later said he’d found it.
Weinstein’s new charges include two counts of predatory sexual assault, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said they are “some of the most serious sexual offenses” that exist under state law.
Attorney Gloria Allred, who is representing the woman whose allegations led to the new charges, said her client will testify if the case goes to trial.