Former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is expected to be arraigned on Wednesday in Manhattan for a new indictment, his lawyer Arthur Aidala announced. Weinstein will personally appear before the court to face his latest legal battle after being excused from a hearing last week due to recovery from emergency heart surgery.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office revealed at the September 12 hearing that a grand jury had issued a new indictment charging Weinstein with previously uncharged offenses, which will remain sealed until his arraignment. Prosecutors have stated that the grand jury heard evidence of up to three alleged assaults, occurring in the mid-2000s at the Tribeca Grand Hotel (now known as the Roxy Hotel) and a Lower Manhattan residential building, as well as an incident in May 2016 at a Tribeca hotel.
While awaiting retrial for his landmark #MeToo case, Weinstein is currently facing charges of up to three additional sex offenses. This retrial has been scheduled for November 12, and prosecutors intend to incorporate the new charges into the proceedings. However, Weinstein’s legal team opposes this decision, arguing that it should be considered as a separate case.
Weinstein’s lawyer noted last week that due to the indictment remaining under seal, it is unclear whether the new charges involve some or all of the additional allegations heard by the grand jury. Weinstein has consistently maintained that any sexual activity he engaged in was consensual.
Following emergency surgery on September 9 to drain fluid around his heart and lungs, Weinstein remains in a Manhattan hospital. Last week, a judge ruled that Weinstein could remain indefinitely in the prison ward at Bellevue Hospital rather than being transferred back to the infirmary ward at Rikers Island jail complex.
In April, New York’s Court of Appeals overturned Weinstein’s 2020 conviction and ordered a new trial, finding that the trial judge had unfairly allowed testimony against him based on allegations from other women not part of the case. The former Hollywood powerhouse co-founded film and television production companies Miramax and The Weinstein Company, producing acclaimed films such as “Shakespeare in Love” and “The Crying Game.
