After five days of deliberation, Harvey Weinstein was convicted Monday of rape and sexual assault, sealing his dizzying fall from powerful Hollywood studio boss and Democrat party mega-donor to convicted rapist.
The verdict followed weeks of often harrowing and excruciatingly graphic testimony from a string of accusers who told of rapes, forced oral sex, groping, masturbation, lewd propositions and how Hollywood’s casting couch works.
The case against the once-feared producer was essentially built on three allegations: that he raped an aspiring actress in a New York City hotel room in 2013, that he forcibly performed oral sex on another woman, production assistant Mimi Haleyi, at his apartment in 2006, and that he raped and forcibly performed oral sex on “Sopranos” actress Annabella Sciorra in her apartment in the mid-1990s.
The conviction was seen as a long-overdue reckoning for Harvey Weinstein after years of whispers about his behavior turned into a torrent of accusations in 2017 that destroyed his career and gave rise to #MeToo, the global movement to encourage women to come forward and hold powerful men accountable for their sexual misconduct.
Fulton Sheen became a TV sensation preaching faith, morality and warnings Michael Knowles says still resonate
WATCH: Former Dem Lt Gov reveals why he resigned after sexual harassment probe rocked state
Breaking: SCOTUS Strikes Down GOP-Favored Map Revived Just 4 Days Ago
St Paul police chief sues mayor, alleging she called herself a ‘MILF,’ sexually harassed him and retaliated
Family of paralyzed Marine vet allegedly shot by migrant speaks out as health issue could delay testimony
Supreme Court blocks Missouri from using new congressional map in 2026 election
For This Dem Judge, a Gay Man’s Life Is Only Worth $765 and 30 Days in Jail When It’s Taken by a Black Woman
Woman Has Part of Her Face Bitten Off in Random ‘Zombie Bite’ Attack
Florida GOP nominee blasts 20-year Dem incumbent as a ‘socialist’ rubber-stamp with ‘precious little to show’
Pope Leo Issues Apocalyptic Warning About AI Creating a ‘Paradise of Machines’
Tennessee Man, 68, Charged with Threatening to Kill ICE Agents on Left-Wing Social Media Platform
Suspect in Fatal College Football Stabbing ID’d as Foreign National Who Overstayed Visa
WATCH: DHS issues stark warning after 300 ‘hostile’ cartel drones detected at southern border
As Singham faces federal probe, wife marches in anti-Israel protest led by groups he funded
Review of Charlie Kirk’s assassination at Utah Valley University made public
Weinstein’s story ensnared several high-profile political figures, media moguls and publications, and left-wing organizations, many of whom the producer had given large donations to or supported in the past. Indeed, Harvey Weinstein had given $10,000 to Bill Clinton’s legal defense fund during the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal. The Clinton Foundation accepted some $250,000 in contributions from Weinstein. When asked, the organization said it couldn’t return the money because it had been used. The campaign for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said in October 2017 that he would keep the more than $60,000 in donations he received from Harvey Weinstein. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Charles Schumer (D-NY), and Cory Booker (D-NJ), all said they would donate contributions they received from Weinstein over the years to charitable causes.
The jury of seven men and five women took five days to find him guilty.
Three additional women who said they, too, were attacked by Weinstein also testified as part of an effort by prosecutors to show a pattern of brutish behavior on his part.
Weinstein will reportedly remain in jail until his sentencing, set for March 11.
The New York Times reported:
The judge then announced that Mr. Weinstein would immediately be sent to jail to await his sentencing. But as court officers approached him, the producer seemed stunned and refused to move. Moments later, he was handcuffed and removed from the room, limping with two officers standing by his side.
Story cited here.
