Harvey Weinstein Weighs Testifying During NY Rape Charge Retrial

Harvey Weinstein is considering testifying at a rape retrial kicking off in New York on Tuesday, he told Bloomberg Law, a turn that would mark the ex-movie mogul’s first time on the stand after four trials.

The decision will “depend on how we feel about the way things are going” in the trial, Weinstein said in a phone interview from Rikers Island.

“We’ve got to see how the trial goes,” he said. “I wanted to testify against Miriam Haley,” he added, referring to the woman he was convicted of sexually assaulting last year. “But we’ll see what we do with this situation.”

He added: “I regret not testifying at the prior trial.”

Jury selection is set to begin Tuesday in what will be Weinstein’s fourth trial on sex crime charges—nearly 10 years after the accusations against him that started the #MeToo movement and ended his Hollywood career.

The interview on the eve of trial shows Weinstein is becoming increasingly open to discussing the allegations against him.

“He probably figures at this point, what does he have to lose?” said Donna Rotunno, the attorney who represented Weinstein in his first New York trial but is no longer on his legal team. “At this point, if you want to tell your story, you might as well tell it.”

‘Vindicated Once and for All’

The Miramax co-founder has switched up his legal team for the latest trial, tapping Agnifilo Intrater, the attorneys who have become the go-to for high-profile men in trouble after representing Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Combs escaped two charges carrying life sentences—sex trafficking and racketeering—and was sentenced to four years on a lesser prostitution-related charge that’s now on appeal.

In the brief interview, Weinstein expressed optimism about the upcoming trial, saying he’s “excited for the possibilities,” believes he’ll be “vindicated once and for all,” and will get a “fair trial,” even though it’s “very difficult, based on all the press that’s been out there.”

A Manhattan jury last year convicted him of forcing oral sex on Haley, a former production assistant.

But that jury acquitted him of sexually assaulting ex-model Kaja Sokola and couldn’t reach a verdict on a charge that he raped ex-aspiring actress Jessica Mann. The Mann-related rape charge is now being retried.

Weinstein faces up to 25 years stemming from the 2025 sexual assault conviction against Haley, but Manhattan criminal court Judge Curtis Farber won’t sentence Weinstein until the rape charge against Mann is also resolved.

‘I Cheated on My Wife’

A spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg pointed to Bragg’s past remarks saying the office is “ready to go forward to trial again” on the rape charge.

“Miriam Haley, Jessica Mann, and Kaja Sokola each spent days on the witness stand, sharing the most traumatic moments of their lives,” Bragg said. “They stood their ground.”

In 2022, after a monthlong trial, Los Angeles jurors also found Weinstein guilty of the rape and sexual assault of one of the four accusers he was charged with abusing. He was sentenced to 16 years on that conviction and has appealed. Appellate arguments are set for this month in California.

Weinstein also gave an interview to The Hollywood Reporter in March. In the phone call on Monday, he said he wants the magazine to release the full video of that interview and he was concerned it made him appear unapologetic. Maer Roshan, the journalist who conducted the interview, said the magazine has posted clips and plans post the full video next month.

Is Weinstein apologetic? “I’m apologetic about some of the actions that I did because I cheated on my wife,” he told Bloomberg Law. “I never should have been with these women in the first place.”