‘MeToo’ BACKFIRES! Rapist Harvey Weinstein may walk free – and, warns MAUREEN CALLAHAN, the desperate media mob and rotten US justice will have done more damage to women than this monster ever could

Harvey Weinstein is perhaps #MeToo’s biggest miscalculation.

Nearly four years after the disgraced movie mogul was convicted of two crimes — rape and sexual assault — New York’s highest court has overturned that verdict.

His victims are furious, as they should be. But it is the prosecutors and the judge in this case, no doubt swept up in a media storm that found Weinstein guilty before he ever entered the courtroom, who should be the object of their anger and contempt.

It is they – and not the judges who voted for the overthrow – who are responsible for re-victimizing these women. The culprit is the overzealous, self-serving New York DA team, led by then-District Attorney Cyrus Vance.

As did the now retired judge in this case, James M. Burke, who allowed the testimony of three women who had nothing to do with the Weinstein trial.

By overreaching, by trying to correct too much for a multi-faceted, system-wide failure that allowed Weinstein to backdate by years – exposés murdered, careers threatened, payoffs and non-disclosure agreements executed, cover-ups at his film studio and favors called in with a certain The Office of the New York district attorney – well, Vance and Burke have done as much damage to women as Weinstein ever did.

What a travesty. What an insult to the courageous victims who came forward, who finally felt they could go public, and to the two accusers who testified against Weinstein in court in New York.

Condemning him was always going to be difficult. There was no greater disheartening than the 2015 allegation from an Italian model named Ambra Battilana, who told the NYPD that Weinstein forcibly groped her during a gathering in March of that year.

The department’s Special Victims Division opened an investigation, and when Weinstein asked to meet again, Battilana carried a wire and caught Weinstein admitting to that earlier attack.

As her allegations made headlines, some media reported that Battilana, then 22, had accepted free tickets to a Broadway show that Weinstein produced, attended at least one sex party hosted by disgraced Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and once 70-year-old had accused… old ‘sugar daddy’ of sexual assault – basically implying that Battilana was a slut and a scheming wannabe beyond belief.

The NYPD thought differently. They found Battilana extremely credible. “We have built a rock-solid case,” Michael Osgood, the former SVD commander, said Thursday.

It never came to trial.

Weinstein reportedly contacted famed former prosecutor Linda Fairstein — who had publicly desired a film deal with the mogul — and Fairstein then agreed to contact Martha Bashford, who headed the agency for sex crimes by the public prosecutor.

Vance ultimately declined to prosecute, claiming there wasn’t enough evidence. Once the case was dismissed, Battalia reached a settlement with Weinstein – which may have seemed logical and fair to her, but which only retroactively contributed to her being portrayed as untrustworthy.

That’s how untouchable Harvey Weinstein was.

It is they – and not the judges who voted for the overthrow – who are responsible for revictimizing these women. The culprit is the overzealous, self-serving New York prosecutor, led by then-District Attorney Cyrus Vance (pictured).

Condemning him was always going to be difficult. There was no greater disheartening than the 2015 accusation from an Italian model named Ambra Battilana (pictured), who told the NYPD that Weinstein forcibly groped her during a meeting in March of that year.

So despite the whisper network and the long-standing rumors and Courtney Love’s infamous warning to young actresses – “If Harvey Weinstein invites you to a private party at the Four Seasons, don’t go,” she said on the red carpet in 2005 – nothing ever happened. to Harvey.

Until 2017, when the dam finally burst: story after story of assault and sexual assault, and in some cases rape – alleged by both famous and non-famous women, more than 80 accusers around the world, their stories remarkably similar.

Finally, it seemed, justice would be done.

We knew how nervous the prosecutors in New York must have been. They had only two plaintiffs, Miriam Haley and Jessica Mann, and both women maintained consensual sexual relationships with Weinstein after their alleged rapes.

This was a seemingly insurmountable hurdle, especially with a jury of seven men and five women. But the prosecutor also called Dr. Barbara Ziv, an expert on rape trauma, who explained that there are no perfect victims – and for those who know their attacker, there is often an attempt to maintain a relationship to cope with the trauma and not let it pass completely discourage.

This was no small victory, as it led a jury to convict under the circumstances.

Weinstein’s guilty verdict and lengthy prison sentence strengthened the burgeoning #MeToo movement. It highlighted the unique complications of sex crimes, the gray areas and nuances that often work against victims.

But by allowing the testimony of other alleged victims who were not part of this case, the judge and prosecutor would only gain a false and short-lived victory.

At this particular moment, when women’s reproductive rights are under attack like never before, with once-convicted monsters like Bill Cosby released and other high-profile offenders out of work but still at large, this decision – a legal vindication from Weinstein that has nothing has to do with morality or common sense – is a crushing blow.

Weinstein reportedly contacted famed former sex crimes prosecutor Linda Fairstein (pictured) – who had publicly desired a movie deal with the mogul – and Fairstein then agreed to contact Martha Bashford on Weinstein’s behalf, who headed the district attorney’s sex crimes bureau. Vance ultimately declined to prosecute.

If the prospect of a free Harvey Weinstein is to mean anything — his lawyers will appeal his conviction in LA on May 20 — prosecutors on both coasts should learn from this before charging another famous, powerful man whose alleged sexual predation and deviant behavior has made headlines. months now: Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs, accused of sexually assaulting men.

If victims of sex crimes everywhere, regardless of age or gender, want to get real justice, judges and prosecutors must do the very unglamorous work of applying the law while keeping the spotlight and the chic of a new, radical case , driven by understandable anger, ignore. and emotion.

A Harvey Weinstein can never happen again, in more ways than one.