Harvey Weinstein cleaned up for an appearance in Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday, with the disgraced mogul arriving for his scheduled hearing in a suit and tie.
The 65-year-old predator, who has been accused of assault by over 20 women, was arraigned on charges of rape in the first degree, rape in the third degree and criminal sexual act, just six days after a grand jury voted on the case.
Weinstein, who opted not to testify in front of the grand jury, entered a plea of not guilty to all three counts.
Weinstein was indicted by a grand jury after his lawyer Ben Brafman released a statement stating that his client wold not be testifying in front of the jury and complaining that he had been ‘unfairly denied access to critical information about this case that was needed to defend him before the Grand Jury.’
Brafman cited the fact that he and Weinstein did not know who the accusers were in this case as part of the issue, saying they only learned who the charges were linked to on Friday after Weinstein’s arrest.
This despite the fact that both women shared their stories with The New Yorker.
Brafman told reporters on Tuesday after a court meeting that the woman who alleges she was raped by Weinstein multiple times during a 2013 incident in a midtown hotel was having a decade-long affair with the producer.
‘This is an extraordinary case in my judgement where the only rape victim that Mr. Weinstein is accused of raping is someone with whom he has had a 10-year consensual sexual relationship – both before and after the alleged incident,’ stated Brafman.
He also called the woman’s allegations ‘absurd.’
Brafman also said he had concerns about his client being able to get a fair trial.
‘The ability for people to keep an open mind is of concern to me,’ remarked Brafman.
‘Demanding an indictment or prosecution is inappropriate pressure. It is unprecedented. It troubles me and I want to make those matters known to the court.’
He then noted: ‘I’m not certain that there’s any remedy but I wanted to make clear I was unhappy with those issues.’
Weinstein was not in court on Tuesday either and is remaining in the New York area after surrendering his passport Friday.
He also handed over a cashier’s check to cover the $1 million cash bond before leaving the court, with Weinstein heading off to be fitted for his electronic monitoring bracelet.
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