EXCLUSIVE: Although imprisoned Harvey Weinstein was hospitalized last week for a host of health problems, the much-accused producer is still expected to appear in court tomorrow – at least for now.
“Mr. Weinstein went to prison with serious medical problems, and they have not magically disappeared, but are being treated,” the producer’s longtime spokeswoman, Juda Engelmayer, tells Deadline of his client, who suffers from diabetes, heart problems and sleep apnea. who is also almost blind.
After his 2020 sex crime conviction was overturned on April 25, there has been a sandstorm of rumors in recent days that Weinstein, 72, would not show up for his re-sentence hearing, which begins in the early afternoon local time at the 100 Center supposed street in Manhattan. While Weinstein’s current condition is currently far from critical and he is under observation at Bellevue, a well-informed law enforcement source said that “things could change in the blink of an eye” and that “further drama” is not out of the question.
Weinstein’s representatives say otherwise.
“Mr. Weinstein was visited by his lawyers Arthur Aidala and Diana Samson for several hours yesterday,” Engelmayer added. “Mr. Aidala confirms that Mr. Weinstein will be present at his hearing on Wednesday and looks forward to his day in court.”
Weinstein was moved from his home at the medium-security Mohawk Correctional Facility in upstate New York and entered the prison ward at Bellevue Hospital over the weekend. In between, there was a brief return to Rikers Island, less than 24 hours after the Empire State Court of Appeals last week overturned Weinstein’s 2020 sex crimes conviction and 23-year prison sentence.
The appeals court also ordered a new trial to preserve Weinstein’s innocence.
To that end, the May 1 hearing before Judge Curtis Farber will formally vacate the Weinstein 2020 NYC conviction and reopen the criminal case.
Still, Weinstein’s 2022 rape conviction in Los Angeles and a subsequent 16-year prison sentence on either coast means Weinstein won’t be released from prison anytime soon.
“Weinstein remains in custody,” New York Department of Justice spokesman Patrick Rocchio said today. “Mr. Weinstein remains in the capable hands of CHS at Bellevue Hospital, where his various health conditions will be monitored and cared for,” notes Craig Rothfeld, Weinstein’s prison counselor and authorized representative of the NYC DOCS & Correctional Health Services.
The former Miramax mini-mogul will be sent back to the tough Rikers once all of his medical tests are completed and he is stabilized, a law enforcement official said. The source could not say when this move would or could take place.
One thing we know for sure, given the differences between New York state law and California law in this once again uncertain situation, is that Weinstein will still face over a decade behind bars. The inclusion of “prior bad acts” testimony from a number of women on uncharged assault and abuse allegations, now admitted by former judge James Burke in Weinstein’s East Coast trial in 2020, will attract little legal attention pulp Fiction Los Angeles producer’s verdict – whether or not Weinstein’s West Coast lawyers will appeal.
Back on the East Coast, after the conviction was overturned 4-3 by New York’s highest court, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office has strongly indicated that it intends to retry Weinstein in a new trial . “We will do everything in our power to retry this case and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault,” Donald Trump’s prosecutor’s office said on April 25 and reaffirmed it on April 26.
No documents have been officially filed yet, although sources said that could change as early as Wednesday.
Last weekend’s trip to Bellevue was similar in tone and condition to Weinstein’s much-confused visits to the hospital in the hours and days following his more than two-decade conviction for multiple sex crimes in March 2020. Then, as now, the much-confused Weinstein’s health suddenly deteriorated , which had the added benefit of keeping him out of the sprawling East River Rikers for an extended period of time.
Charged with rape and arrested in May 2018 after police revelations New York Times In late 2017, decades of abuse and alleged assaults by Weinstein were detailed. The producer was convicted in February 2020 of first-degree sexual assault and third-degree rape in the cases of Mimi Haley and Jessica Mann.
The 23-year sentence he received from Judge Burke was to be served consecutively. Crucial to the appeals court’s overturning of the conviction and sentence last week was another blow to the emerging #MeToo movement, the Weinstein trial, in which Annabella Sciorra and several other women testified about alleged abuse and rape by the producer.
As a further consequence of his conviction, Weinstein was also ordered by Burke to register as a sex offender. That designation will likely be removed at the May 1 hearing.
On April 26, Haley said she was “sick in the stomach” when she learned Weinstein’s conviction had been overturned. Haley was raped by Weinstein in his SoHo apartment in 2006 and was a key witness in the 2020 trial.
It is currently difficult to estimate whether she will appear as a witness in a second New York Weinstein trial
“I definitely don’t want to go through this again,” Haley, represented by Gloria Allred, said in a press conference in LA late last week. “But to move on and do the right thing because it happened, I would think about it,” she continued.
While Haley’s tone was similar to the anger that many survivors have expressed since the appeals court’s ruling was released, her actual testimony could prove important to the Manhattan district attorney’s office if it decides to take the matter back to trial or leave California to Weinstein .