Lawyer: Weinstein will be cleared of sex charges
HARVEY Weinstein’s lawyer has said he believes the film producer will be exonerated after he was charged with two counts of rape and one count of a criminal sexual act.
Weinstein posted a cash bail of $1million (£751,060) and has agreed to wear an electronic tag.
Speaking outside the Manhattan court, Weinstein’s lawyer Benjamin Brafman said the movie mogul will enter a plea of not guilty against the charges, which relate to two women.
Mr Brafman said: “We intend to move very quickly to dismiss these charges. We believe that they are constitutionally flawed. We believe that they are not factually supported by the evidence and we believe that by the end of the process, Mr Weinstein will be exonerated.”
He said Weinstein is doing “as well as can be expected when you are accused of a crime that you vehemently deny having committed”.
Mr Brafman, who was accompanied by Weinstein outside the court, said his client has “always maintained that any sexual activity he engaged in was consensual”.
“He has vehemently denied any of the allegations which suggest that he engaged in non-consensual sexual activity,” he added.
“Many of these allegations are long overdue, quite frankly, having been made about events that are alleged to have occurred many years ago.”
Mr Brafman cast doubt over whether a jury would believe Weinstein’s accusers.
He said: “They were not reported to the police at the time these events occurred.”