A Manhattan grand jury has indicted Harvey Weinstein on charges of rape and a criminal sexual act in connection with allegations by two women.
“This indictment brings the defendant another step closer to accountability for the crimes of violence with which he is now charged,” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement.
“Our office will try this case not in the press, but in the courtroom where it belongs. The defendant’s recent assault on the integrity of the survivors and the legal process is predictable. We are confident that when the jury hears the evidence, it will reject these attacks out of hand.”
“I thank the heroic survivors for their strength throughout this process. I also thank Commissioner James O’Neill and members of the New York City police department for their dedication to this case. This investigation remains active and ongoing.”
This comes hot on the heels of a statement issued in which Weinstein’s lawyers argued there was not enough time to prepare him to testify.
via The Guardian:
They say he learned the specific charges and the accusers’ identities only after turning himself in last Friday, with a deadline set for Wednesday afternoon to testify or not. They say his request for more time was denied.
Weinstein’s principal lawyer, Ben Brafman, held a closed door meeting with others in the judge’s chambers on Tuesday, during which he argued that bad publicity around his client would affect a potential jury. He later maligned one of the alleged victims in the case, saying she had had a romantic relationship with Weinstein before and after allegedly committing sexual misconduct.
I wouldn’t count on a slam-dunk guilty verdict for Harvey just yet though. I remember his lawyer Ben Brafman from a particular trial in the ’90s. He was a shark then and he’s an even more skilled shark now. Watch out DA Vance.
(Photo: Pacific Coast News)
