This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/nyregion/harvey-weinstein-trial.html

The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 9 Version 10
Weinstein Trial Begins With Vivid Descriptions of Several Sexual Attacks Weinstein Trial Begins With Vivid Descriptions of Several Sexual Attacks
(about 1 hour later)
In Hollywood, Harvey Weinstein was a man of seemingly infinite power, not only making Oscar-winning films like “Pulp Fiction” and “Shakespeare in Love,” but also helping make careers.In Hollywood, Harvey Weinstein was a man of seemingly infinite power, not only making Oscar-winning films like “Pulp Fiction” and “Shakespeare in Love,” but also helping make careers.
But on Wednesday morning, Mr. Weinstein arrived at the Manhattan Criminal Courts Building to face charges that even as he ruled over the movie business in New York and Los Angeles, he was a sexual predator, a serial abuser who repeatedly used his influence and imposing physicality to overpower women in his orbit.But on Wednesday morning, Mr. Weinstein arrived at the Manhattan Criminal Courts Building to face charges that even as he ruled over the movie business in New York and Los Angeles, he was a sexual predator, a serial abuser who repeatedly used his influence and imposing physicality to overpower women in his orbit.
“The evidence will be clear that the man seated right there was not just a titan in Hollywood, but a rapist,” a prosecutor, Meghan Hast, said in her opening statement, gesturing to Mr. Weinstein.“The evidence will be clear that the man seated right there was not just a titan in Hollywood, but a rapist,” a prosecutor, Meghan Hast, said in her opening statement, gesturing to Mr. Weinstein.
Ms. Hast offered graphic details about several assaults. Before one attack, she said, Mr. Weinstein injected erection medication into his genitals. On another occasion, he showed up uninvited outside the hotel room of the actress Annabella Sciorra. He was in his underwear, with baby oil in one hand and a videotape in the other.Ms. Hast offered graphic details about several assaults. Before one attack, she said, Mr. Weinstein injected erection medication into his genitals. On another occasion, he showed up uninvited outside the hotel room of the actress Annabella Sciorra. He was in his underwear, with baby oil in one hand and a videotape in the other.
Mr. Weinstein tried to force a third victim into having sex with him and his assistant by telling her, “This is how the industry works,” Ms. Hast said. Mr. Weinstein tried to force a third woman into having sex with him and his assistant by telling her, “This is how the industry works,” Ms. Hast said.
But a defense lawyer, Damon Cheronis, said in his opening statement that Mr. Weinstein was neither a predator nor a “master manipulator,” arguing that his various accusers were involved with him in transactional relationships meant to advance their own careers. But a defense lawyer, Damon Cheronis, said in his opening statement that Mr. Weinstein was neither a predator nor a “master manipulator,” arguing that his accusers were involved with him in transactional relationships meant to advance their own careers. “It was consensual,” he said.
“It was consensual,” Mr. Cheronis said, telling the jurors that they were “going to be shown two realities.” The trial is one of the most anticipated criminal proceedings in recent memory, widely seen as a watershed moment of the #MeToo era — a movement that began in October 2017 with revelations about Mr. Weinstein’s alleged mistreatment of women. Early Wednesday, dozens of reporters from around the world lined up at the courthouse in Manhattan.
“You are here to get to the truth,” Mr. Cheronis later said. The jury of seven men and five women are being asked to delve into complex issues of consent and power. The case will turn largely on the jurors’ interpretation of hundreds of emails between Mr. Weinstein and his accusers, some of which included friendly communication, and on whether they deem the women’s testimony credible.
The start of the trial, one of the most anticipated criminal proceedings in recent memory, has attracted news media from around the globe and will delve into the issues of consent and power in professional relationships. Early Wednesday, dozens of reporters from as far away as Germany and South America lined up in front of the courthouse in Manhattan.
It also capped a year and a half of legal wrangling by Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers, who have sought for months to contain, delay and derail the process with attempts to limit witnesses, remove the judge from the case and relocate the trial from what they have described as the “carnival-like atmosphere” of Manhattan.
Mr. Weinstein, 67, faces charges that he raped one aspiring actress in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and forced oral sex on a production assistant, Mimi Haleyi, in his TriBeCa apartment in 2006.Mr. Weinstein, 67, faces charges that he raped one aspiring actress in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and forced oral sex on a production assistant, Mimi Haleyi, in his TriBeCa apartment in 2006.
Four other women, including Ms. Sciorra, are also expected to testify, even though most of their allegations are too old to prosecute as separate crimes. The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which is the handling the case, intends to use their testimony show that Mr. Weinstein engaged in a pattern of sexual predation.Four other women, including Ms. Sciorra, are also expected to testify, even though most of their allegations are too old to prosecute as separate crimes. The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which is the handling the case, intends to use their testimony show that Mr. Weinstein engaged in a pattern of sexual predation.
The day began when Mr. Weinstein, who recently had back surgery, made his way up the courthouse steps at just before 9:15 a.m., his weight sometimes supported by two men as he struggled to stay upright. It was the first time in weeks that he had entered the courthouse without a walker. Ms. Hast led the jury through Mr. Weinstein’s alleged mistreatment of women, beginning in the early 1990s, when she said Mr. Weinstein raped Ms. Sciorra, who later became known for her work in “The Sopranos.”
Neither Mr. Weinstein nor his lawyers spoke to a crowd of reporters, camera operators and photographers as he walked inside. Among those sitting in the packed courtroom was the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr. After meeting at an Irish bar in Lower Manhattan, Mr. Weinstein dropped Ms. Sciorra off at her apartment and forced his way inside, Ms. Hast said. Then, the prosecutor said, he pushed her onto a bed, pinned her arms above her head and raped her.
Opening statements started at 10:15 a.m., as Ms. Hast led the jury through nearly 30 years of Mr. Weinstein’s mistreatment of women. The litany of abuse, the prosecutor said, began in the early 1990s, when Mr. Weinstein raped Ms. Sciorra, who was later known for her work in “The Sopranos.” For decades after the attack, Ms. Hast said, Mr. Weinstein made Ms. Sciorra “live in terror,” seeking her out whenever she filmed movies, leaving messages for her and showing up at hotels where she was staying.
After meeting at an Irish bar in Lower Manhattan one night, Ms. Hast told the jury, Mr. Weinstein dropped Ms. Sciorra off at her apartment, forced his way inside and began unbuttoning his shirt. Ms. Sciorra thought that she could flee into the bathroom, Ms. Hast said, but Mr. Weinstein pushed her onto a bed, pinned her arms above her head and raped her. Once, according to Ms. Hast, she opened the door of her hotel room to find him standing in the hallway in his underwear, with a bottle of baby oil in one hand and a videotape in the other.
For decades after the attack, Ms. Hast recounted, Mr. Weinstein made Ms. Sciorra “live in terror,” seeking her out whenever she filmed movies, leaving messages for her and showing up at hotels she was staying in. Ms. Haleyi, who went public with her story in 2017, met Mr. Weinstein at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006 and soon took a job as a production assistant on Mr. Weinstein’s television show “Project Runway,” Ms. Hast said.
Once, according to Ms. Hast, when Ms. Sciorra was placed in a hotel room next to Mr. Weinstein’s during a film festival, she opened her door to find him standing in the hallway in his underwear, with a bottle of baby oil in one hand and a videotape in the other. For the next few months, according to the prosecutor, Mr. Weinstein pressured Ms. Haleyi, offering her trips to Paris and Los Angeles. Eventually, Ms. Hast told the jury, Ms. Haleyi went to Mr. Weinstein’s apartment, where he forced oral sex on her.
Ms. Haleyi, who went public with her story in 2017, met Mr. Weinstein at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006 and soon took a job as a production assistant on Mr. Weinstein’s show “Project Runway,” Ms. Hast said. For the next few months, according to the prosecutor, Mr. Weinstein pressured Ms. Haleyi, offering her trips to Paris and Los Angeles. Eventually, Ms. Hast told the jury, Ms. Haleyi went to Mr. Weinstein’s apartment, where he forced oral sex on her. Weeks after that encounter, Ms. Hast said, Mr. Weinstein attacked Ms. Haleyi in a hotel in TriBeCa. “She laid there emotionless, like a dead fish,” the prosecutor said.
“Miriam decided to just check out,” Ms. Hast said, referring to Ms. Haleyi’s given name. “She tried to endure the violent sexual assault Harvey Weinstein was perpetrating on her.”
Weeks after the first assault, Ms. Hast said, Ms. Haleyi met Mr. Weinstein at a hotel in TriBeCa, and he attacked her again. “She laid there emotionless, like a dead fish,” the prosecutor said.
Ms. Hast said a third accuser, whom The New York Times is not naming because she is an alleged rape victim, moved to Los Angeles at age 25, looking for “a break in the entertainment industry” after being raised in an evangelical church in a small town in Washington State.Ms. Hast said a third accuser, whom The New York Times is not naming because she is an alleged rape victim, moved to Los Angeles at age 25, looking for “a break in the entertainment industry” after being raised in an evangelical church in a small town in Washington State.
A few years later — as “a starving actress” — she met Mr. Weinstein at a party and accepted his invitation to join him in a hotel room, where she gave him a massage even though she felt he was “old enough to be her father” and was “overweight and sloppy looking,” Ms. Hast said. A few years later, she met Mr. Weinstein at a party and accepted his invitation to join him in a hotel room, where she reluctantly gave him a massage even though she felt he was “old enough to be her father,” Ms. Hast said.
At a subsequent meeting in Los Angeles, Ms. Hast said, Mr. Weinstein kissed the actress and forced her into receiving oral sex. Ultimately, Ms. Hast told the jury, the woman “tried to have a relationship” with Mr. Weinstein, believing “there was no way to get out” without harming her career. At a later meeting in Los Angeles, the prosecutor said, Mr. Weinstein kissed the actress and forced oral sex on her. Ultimately, Ms. Hast told the jury, the woman “tried to have a relationship” with Mr. Weinstein, because “there was no way to get out” without harming her career.
Then, on March 18, 2013, the actress met Mr. Weinstein for a breakfast meeting at the Doubletree Hotel on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan. It was her first time in New York. After taking her to his room, Mr. Weinstein undressed her, and then climbed on top of her and raped her, Ms. Hast said. Before the assault. Ms. Hast added, Mr. Weinstein injected his penis with an erection medication. On March 18, 2013, the actress met Mr. Weinstein for breakfast at the Doubletree Hotel on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan — her first trip to New York. It was then, Ms. Hast said, that Mr. Weinstein raped her in his room after injecting his penis with an erection medication. Eight months later, the prosecutor told the jury, Mr. Weinstein raped the woman again, ripping off her pants and violently spreading her legs.
Eight months later, Ms. Hast said, Mr. Weinstein raped the woman for a second time, ripping off her pants and violently spreading her legs. After the attack, Ms. Hast told the jury, Mr. Weinstein told the actress: “I just find you so attractive. I couldn’t resist you.” After the second attack, Ms. Hast said, Mr. Weinstein told the actress: “I just find you so attractive. I couldn’t resist you.”
As her statement neared its end, Ms. Hast told the jury about three more women who would testify that Mr. Weinstein attacked them. The accusations by these women were not charged in the indictment; they were instead expected to be called, like Ms. Sciorra, to bolster the prosecution’s contention that Mr. Weinstein had engaged in a pattern of abusive behavior. Ms. Hast told the jury about three more women who would testify that Mr. Weinstein attacked them. The accusations by these women were not charged in the indictment, but their accounts, like Ms. Sciorra’s, will be used to bolster the prosecution’s contention that Mr. Weinstein has a pattern of predatory behavior.
One of the women, an actress, was expected to say that, under the guise of discussing movie roles, Mr. Weinstein took her to a hotel room in TriBeCa and penetrated her with his fingers. When the woman met with Mr. Weinstein again at a hotel in Midtown, Ms. Hast said, he demanded that she have sex with him and his assistant in exchange for parts in three films. One of the women, an actress, will say Mr. Weinstein lured her to a hotel room in TriBeCa with the promise of discussing a movie and penetrated her with his fingers against her will, Ms. Hast said. Later, the prosecutor said, Mr. Weinstein demanded that the actress have sex with him and his assistant at a hotel in Midtown Manhattan in exchange for parts in three films.
“This is how the industry works,” Ms. Hast quoted him as saying. A second actress, who worked as a waitress at a cocktail lounge that Mr. Weinstein frequented, will testify that Mr. Weinstein sexually assaulted her after inviting her to his TriBeCa apartment for a business meeting, according to Ms. Hast.
The second woman, an actress who worked as a waitress at a cocktail lounge that Mr. Weinstein frequented, was expected to testify that she met the defendant at his apartment in TriBeCa for what she believed would be a business meeting. Mr. Weinstein instead lured her into a bedroom and assaulted her, Ms. Hast told the jury. The third corroborating witness, a young model from Pennsylvania who was looking to start an acting career, met with Mr. Weinstein in 2013 at a hotel bar. The producer took her to a hotel room, where he masturbated while groping her breast, Ms. Hast said.
The third corroborating witness, a young model from Pennsylvania who was looking to start an acting career, met with Mr. Weinstein in 2013 at a hotel bar. After the meeting, Ms. Hast said, Mr. Weinstein took her to his hotel room, where he masturbated while groping her breast.
Mr. Cheronis, however, said the evidence would show that the women had maintained consensual sexual relationships with Mr. Weinstein long after the alleged assaults.Mr. Cheronis, however, said the evidence would show that the women had maintained consensual sexual relationships with Mr. Weinstein long after the alleged assaults.
“If you drown out the noise, you are going to know that what Ms. Hast told you does not hold water,” Mr. Cheronis said, referring to the prosecutor’s opening statement.“If you drown out the noise, you are going to know that what Ms. Hast told you does not hold water,” Mr. Cheronis said, referring to the prosecutor’s opening statement.
Mr. Cheronis showed jurors excerpts from emails that women had sent to Mr. Weinstein, which he said suggested that the encounters had been friendly. One woman described Mr. Weinstein as a “casual boyfriend” and had taken notes on her phone about her sexual encounters with the producer. Mr. Cheronis showed jurors excerpts from emails to Mr. Weinstein from his two main accusers that he said suggested the sexual encounters had been friendly. For instance, Mr. Cheronis said, the actress from rural Washington who says she was raped in 2013 had suggested in an email that the producer should meet her mother.
“You can lie to the state, you can lie to the police, you can lie to anybody, but you can’t lie to yourself,” Mr. Cheronis said. “You are here to get to the truth. The truth is, there was nothing nonconsensual about it.” She also called Mr. Weinstein a “casual boyfriend” in an electronic communication and kept a diary on her phone about her sexual encounters with him, the lawyer said.
Ms. Haleyi remained in contact with Mr. Weinstein after her alleged assault, Mr. Cheronis said. She requested movie premiere tickets, bragged about her friendship with him and thanked him for his support, the lawyer said.
Mr. Cheronis also cast doubt on Ms. Sciorra’s story, pointing out that she was unable to provide investigators with an exact date of the alleged rape and had described the encounter to a friend not as an assault, but “a crazy thing.”
“You are here to get to the truth,” Mr. Cheronis told the jury. “The truth is, there was nothing nonconsensual about it.”
The prosecution’s first witness was Lance Maerov, a former board member for the defunct Weinstein Company, a film studio. Mr. Maerov described Mr. Weinstein as an “extremely influential and powerful person” who “made no secret that he was connected to very powerful people,” including former President Bill Clinton.
Prosecutors showed the jury a photograph of Mr. Weinstein smiling with Mr. Clinton. After the jurors were dismissed for the day, Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers argued the photo had tainted the jury, since Mr. Clinton had been embroiled in his own sex scandal.
But Joan Illuzzi, the lead prosecutor, said Mr. Weinstein had used his connection to Mr. Clinton to intimidate women. He sometimes took phone calls from Mr. Clinton, she said, in the presence of the actress who says she was raped in 2013.
“She was a person from a dairy farm intimidated by this hulking person who was on the phone with Bill Clinton every other day,” Ms. Illuzzi said.
Emily Palmer contributed reporting.Emily Palmer contributed reporting.