Harvey Weinstein Begs for New Rape Retrial Date: ‘I’m Gasping for Air’

Harvey Weinstein begged a judge to move up his April 15 trial date, saying in court on Wednesday that he “can’t hold on anymore.” During his five years behind bars, Weinstein has suffered from heart problems and was diagnosed with leukemia. Weinstein’s colorful entreaty — the fallen movie mogul described the Rikers Island jail complex as a “hellhole” and intimated that he was a voice for the voiceless — came moments after Judge Curtis Farber set the date for his second Manhattan rape trial.

“Every day I’m on Rikers Island, it’s a mystery to me how I’m still walking,” he said. Weinstein claimed that just this morning, he was given the wrong pills, (which he happened to notice and didn’t take them). “I’m gasping for air. I know I’m headed toward Bellevue [Hospital] any day now, and I can’t wait this long.” Weinstein said that he is “holding on” because he wants justice for himself. “I’m not talking like, ‘Oh, I’m the only one who’s suffering over there,’ there are so many people suffering at Rikers Island, so many of the people I’m with in prison [are] going through similar problems,” Weinstein said at another point, noting that the notoriously dangerous jail was supposed to be closed long ago. Weinstein said he was in a unique position to lay out concerns, saying others didn’t have the same “mouthpiece” to advocate that he did. “I speak for all of them when I tell you this is a medieval situation.” The jail, Weinstein remarked, “remains a stain on this city, a stain on this industry, and must be stopped.” 

Farber thanked Weinstein for “expressing your concerns” and said “I appreciate them and I’m empathetic.” But, the jurist said, he already had another trial scheduled between now and mid-April. Farber said that jury selection was starting today. 

“So that’s already set in stone?” Weinstein asked about jury selection. 

“Beyond set in stone,” Farber said. Farber announced the date during a brief proceeding this morning. The judge also decided that Weinstein could be tried for a new count against him, which his lawyers had opposed. Weinstein, who was wheeled into court at 10:45 a.m., wore a navy suit and white button-down shirt, as well as a tie. He carried two books. One of Weinstein’s hands was cuffed to his wheelchair. 

The route to Weinstein’s trial is circuitous. On February 24, 2020, Weinstein was found guilty of rape in the third degree and criminal sexual act in the first degree for attacking two women, Jessica Mann and Mimi Haleyi. The jury found Weinstein not guilty of two predatory sexual-assault counts for actress Annabella Sciorra’s allegation that he raped her in late 1993. But on April 25, 2024, New York State’s highest court overturned his conviction as prosecutors had called three other accusers — Dawn Dunning, Tarale Wulff, and Lauren Young — to testify about his alleged misconduct toward them. Weinstein was not charged over their allegations. 

Weinstein had fought the verdict and the New York Court of Appeals took his side, deciding that “the only evidence against defendant was the complainants’ testimony, and the result of the court’s rulings, on the one hand, was to bolster their credibility and diminish defendant’s character before the jury. On the other hand, the threat of a cross-examination highlighting these untested allegations undermined the defendant’s right to testify.”

Manhattan prosecutors vowed to retry the case and revealed that they were probing other allegations of misconduct. On September 5, 2024, Weinstein was indicted on one count of criminal sexual act in the first degree. This count relates to an alleged incident around late April 2006. This new indictment and the old charges were combined into one case. Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Weinstein’s lawyers have fought the new charge, claiming that prosecutors waited too long to bring the count, violating his constitutional rights. In recent court papers, prosecutors said that they could legally bring charges now, explaining that there were “compelling reasons” behind the delay.  Prosecutors said the third woman filed a civil suit against Weinstein several weeks before his 2020 trial. Her attorney reached out to prosecutors the weekend before Weinstein’s trial and said was available to be interviewed over a potential sexual assault. 

Before prosecutors finished their investigation of his claims, Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison. “To conserve resources in light of the conviction and sentence, as well as the emerging coronavirus pandemic, the People did not proceed further at that time with the investigation into potential offenses involving [the woman],” prosecutors said in explaining the delay.