NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Disgraced ex-movie mogul has been indicted on additional sex crimes charges in New York ahead of a retrial in his landmark #MeToo case, Manhattan prosecutors said at a court hearing Thursday.
The indictment will remain under seal until Weinstein is arraigned on the new charges, which could happen as early as Sept. 18. Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg disclosed in court that the indictment charges 鈥淢r. Weinstein with additional crimes鈥� and that multiple accusers are prepared to testify against him.
Weinstein, 72, is recovering from emergency heart surgery Monday at a Manhattan hospital to remove fluid on his heart and lungs and was not at Thursday's hearing.
Prosecutors retrying Weinstein鈥檚 overturned rape conviction disclosed last week that they had begun presenting to a grand jury evidence of up to three additional allegations against Weinstein, dating as far back as the mid-2000s.
They include alleged sexual assaults at the Tribeca Grand Hotel, now known as the Roxy Hotel, and in a Lower Manhattan residential building between late 2005 and mid-2006, and an alleged sexual assault at a Tribeca hotel in May 2016.
Because the indictment is under seal, it was not known whether the new charges involved some or all of the additional allegations.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 know anything," Weinstein鈥檚 lawyer, Arthur Aidala, said outside court. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 know what the exact accusations are, the exact locations are, what the timing is."
New York鈥檚 highest court overturned Weinstein鈥檚 2020 conviction on rape and sexual assault charges involving two women and ordered a new trial. Weinstein鈥檚 retrial is tentatively scheduled to begin Nov. 12.
Prosecutors said they would seek to combine any new charges with ones previously brought against Weinstein so that they could be tried together. Weinstein鈥檚 lawyers oppose that, arguing that prosecutors were seeking to bolster their original case with additional charges involving other accusers.
Aidala said Weinstein鈥檚 defense team won't be ready to go to trial in November on the new charges. By law, he said, they'll have 45 days to file court papers challenging the prosecution鈥檚 request to try the original and new indictments at the same time, pushing the fight into the weeks before a possible trial.
Weinstein鈥檚 new charges come after prosecutors in Britain announced last week that they would charges of indecent assault against Weinstein, who was the most prominent villain of the in 2017 when women began going public with accounts of his behavior.
Weinstein, who co-founded the film and television production companies Miramax and The Weinstein Company, has long maintained that any sexual activity was consensual.
Also Thursday, Judge Curtis Farber granted a defense request to have the ailing Weinstein remain at Bellevue Hospital indefinitely instead of being moved back to the infirmary ward at New York City鈥檚 Rikers Island jail complex. Farber also ordered Weinstein鈥檚 attending physician at Rikers Island to testify at a closed-door hearing about the ex-studio boss' health issues.
Weinstein鈥檚 surgery Monday came after his third trip to Bellevue Hospital to have fluid drained, Farber said. He has a variety of maladies requiring medication and treatment that causes him to retain water in his arms, legs, abdomen and around his heart, and he needs constant monitoring to ensure the buildup of fluids isn鈥檛 deadly, the judge said.
鈥淚f Mr. Weinstein dies because no one has taken the authority to stop what may be the death of Mr. Weinstein because of this back-and-forth transfer from one institution to another, it would be a miscarriage of justice to say the least,鈥� Weinstein鈥檚 lawyer Barry Kamins told Farber. 鈥淚t would be a travesty of justice.鈥�
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg鈥檚 office had signaled for months that new charges were imminent against Weinstein, who was once one of the most powerful people in Hollywood, having produced films such as 鈥淧ulp Fiction鈥� and 鈥淭he Crying Game.鈥�
In July, prosecutors told a judge they were claims of rape that occurred in Manhattan within the statute of limitations. They said some potential accusers who were not ready to come forward during Weinstein鈥檚 first New York trial had indicated they were now willing to testify.
In , New York鈥檚 Court of Appeals ruled that the trial judge, James M. Burke, unfairly allowed testimony against him based on allegations from other women that were not part of the case. Burke is no longer on the bench.
Prosecutors have said one of the accusers in that case, Jessica Mann, is prepared to testify against Weinstein again. In a statement, she said the new charges 鈥渟how that this Grand Jury, like so many others, can see clearly through his facade for what he truly is: a predator who must be held accountable for his crimes.鈥�
鈥淔or those who continue to have the courage to come forward against Harvey, you are not alone,鈥� Mann said. 鈥淚 will stand alongside you as we fight for a future where monsters like Harvey no longer hide in our closets, they sit alone behind bars.鈥�
It鈥檚 unclear if the second accuser, Mimi Haley, would participate. Her lawyer, Gloria Allred, declined to comment.
The Associated Press does not generally identify people alleging sexual assault unless they consent to be named, as Haley and Mann did.
Weinstein, who had been serving a 23-year sentence in New York when his conviction was quashed, was in 2022 of another rape.
His 16-year prison sentence in that case still stands, but his lawyers , arguing he did not get a fair trial in Los Angeles. Weinstein in custody in New York鈥檚 Rikers Island jail complex while awaiting the retrial.
Michael R. Sisak And Philip Marcelo, The Associated Press
