Harvey Weinstein lawyer accuses prosecutors of delay tactics as sexual assault retrial is pushed to November
Harvey Weinstein's defense team expressed their disappointment as prosecutors claim they won't be ready for a retrial until November.
It's been over a month since additional women came forward with allegations of sexual assault against Harvey Weinstein, and prosecutors are now claiming these women are ready to testify this November — but Weinstein's defense team is not satisfied with the timeline.
Weinstein, who appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday, remained silent as Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg told Judge Curtis Faber: "We made a determination of what falls [into] the statute of limitations, and we believe the defendant sexually abused those women, which falls into the statute of limitations."
"Some of those women were not ready to proceed, but are now ready to proceed," she continued. "That will not stop us from proceeding to trial this fall. We will skip to that timeline, if and when we go back to the grand jury. We still expect and intend to try this case this fall. We believe November."
HARVEY WEINSTEIN FIGHTS CALIFORNIA EXTRADITION DUE TO PRODUCER'S ‘VERY SERIOUS HEALTH ISSUES'
Weinstein’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, expressed his disappointment in the prosecutor's "delay."
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"I don’t know how anyone can say this won’t delay things if there is a new indictment," he said.
"We need time," Aidala added. "There may be witnesses we want to call. We need to prepare if Mr. Weinstein will testify. We need abundant notice on the indictment."
Aidala also detailed his client's deteriorating health, claiming he is "basically getting no treatment" for his various medical issues.
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"All I can tell you is he is not getting the treatment he deserves," he said. "He needs some relief. We are very confident of the outcome of this trial… he will get acquitted. There is a lot of light at the end of the tunnel for Mr. Weinstein. He isn’t a young man. He is a sick man with young children. The relief I am asking for is time. We just need to get the ball rolling."
"Once again, they’re doing the ’1-800-Get-Harvey," Aidala said outside the courthouse following the morning hearing. "They’re trying to find someone else to come forward because I guess they feel that their current case is not strong enough."
In court, Blumberg rejected the notion and said the prosecution’s plan is to proceed to trial in the fall.
"There’s certainly no delay tactics on our part," she said. "We’re proceeding in the most expeditious manner."
The next court date is scheduled for Friday, July 19.
Aidala did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
In May, additional women came forward with allegations against Weinstein weeks after his rape conviction was overturned. At the time, Blumberg said women who weren't willing to come forward previously might now be ready to testify against the film producer.
When asked by Judge Farber whether there was a possibility of prosecutors filing a new indictment, Blumberg replied: "Yes, your honor."
Weinstein's retrial on the overturned conviction was tentatively scheduled for sometime after Labor Day during a previous hearing.
A New York appeals court overturned Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, ordering a new trial in a stunning reversal of a landmark #MeToo case.
In a 4-3 decision, the court found that Weinstein's trial judge allowed prosecutors to call women who said Weinstein had assaulted them to testify, even though their accusations did not specifically relate to the entertainment mogul's charges.
Weinstein was originally sentenced to 23 years in prison after being convicted in February 2020 of forcing oral sex on TV and film production assistant Mimi Haley in 2006 and third-degree rape of hairstylist Jessica Mann in 2013.
He was acquitted of first-degree rape and two counts of predatory sexual assault stemming from actor Annabella Sciorra’s allegations of rape in the 1990s. Weinstein has denied ever engaging in non-consensual sex.
Fox News Digital's Lauryn Overhultz and Jennifer Johnson, as well as the Associated Press, contributed to this report.