Jurors soon will get the case against the former movie studio boss who propelled the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct.
NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein has decided not to take the stand in his New York retrial concerning sex crimes, his lawyer announced on Sunday. This decision paves the way for the jury to soon receive the case involving the former movie mogul known for playing a pivotal role in the #MeToo movement against sexual offenses.
Closing arguments are set to begin on Tuesday, with Weinstein opting not to provide his own testimony, according to his lawyer, Arthur Aidala, who made the announcement on Sunday evening. The court does not proceed with cases on Mondays.
It’s unclear whether jury deliberations would begin Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday.
This was a difficult choice for Weinstein, who also chose not to testify in his earlier trials in both New York and California, where he was subsequently convicted. He maintains his innocence, and Aidala mentioned that Weinstein had been carefully contemplating the possibility of taking the stand in this instance.
While his California appeal winds on, Weinstein won a new trial in his New York rape and sexual assault case when the state’s highest court overturned his 2020 conviction.
He’s charged in New York with raping Jessica Mann in 2013 and forcing oral sex on Miriam Haley and Kaja Sokola, separately, in 2006. Mann was an actor and hairstylist, Haley a production assistant and producer, and Sokola a model who aspired to an acting career.
All three women testified for days at the retrial, giving emotional and graphic accounts of what they say they endured. They said Weinstein suggested he’d help them achieve their show-business dreams, but then maneuvered them into private settings and preyed on them.
His attorneys have argued that anything that happened between him and his accusers was consensual.
In the U.S., defendants in criminal cases aren’t obligated to testify, and many decide not to, for various reasons. Among them: the prospect of being questioned by prosecutors.
Weinstein has been watching the New York retrial intently from the defense table, sometimes shaking his head at accusers’ testimony and often leaning over to one or another of his attorneys to convey his thoughts.
Aidala said outside court Thursday that Weinstein thought a lot of holes had been poked in the accusers’ accounts, but that he also was pondering whether jurors would feel they needed to hear from him.
The jury has heard from a few other defense witnesses — one of them via a transcript read by court employees.
That witness, Talita Maia, testified at the 2020 trial but was unavailable this time, so jurors instead got a reading Friday of her earlier testimony. One court stenographer voiced the 2020 attorneys’ questions, while another stenographer sat in the witness box and rendered Maia’s answers, at times with emphasis.
Maia and Mann were roommates and friends in 2013 but later fell out. According to Maia, Mann never mentioned in those days that Weinstein had hurt her in any way. Both Maia and another witness, Thomas Richards, met up with Mann and Weinstein shortly after Mann has said she was raped.
Both witnesses testified that they saw nothing amiss.
Mann testified earlier this month that she never anyone at the time that Weinstein had sexually assaulted her because she didn’t think she’d be believed, and she was scared about how he might react.
Weinstein’s defense also brought in former Sokola pal Helga Samuelsen, who has friendly ties to the former producer. Samuelsen testified Thursday that Weinstein visited Sokola once and spent about a half-hour in a bedroom with her in a New York apartment the women briefly shared in 2005; Sokola told jurors no such thing happened.
The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted, but Sokola, Mann and Haley have given their permission to be identified.
Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
