Harvey Weinstein appeared in court on Wednesday after revealing that he has been diagnosed with cancer.
The convicted rapist, 72, was back in court in New York for a hearing ahead of his retrial on sex crime charges stemming from his landmark #MeToo case.
Dressed in a suit, tie and American flag pin, a handcuffed Weinstein spoke animatedly from a wheelchair during the hearing, holding a copy of Robert Harris’ novel Conclave.
A thin Weinstein is being treated behind bars on Rikers Island for a rare form of bone marrow cancer known as chronic myelogenous leukemia.
He spent most of the summer in the hospital with various illnesses, from Covid and double pneumonia to having fluid removed from his heart and lungs.
Dressed in a suit, tie and American flag pin, a handcuffed Weinstein spoke animatedly from a wheelchair during the hearing, holding a copy of Robert Harris’ novel Conclave.
Weinstein is being treated behind bars at Rikers Island for a rare form of bone marrow cancer known as chronic myelogenous leukemia.
The disgraced producer is facing a new trial on two sex crime charges after New York’s highest court overturned his 2020 conviction earlier this year. After the hearing got underway Wednesday, Judge Curtis Farber granted a prosecutor’s request to combine that case and a newer indictment into one trial.
Weinstein was also hit with a new indictment in September accusing him of another attack. He has pleaded not guilty.
The former mogul was convicted on charges of forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006, and of third-degree rape for an attack on an aspiring actor in 2013.
In the new indictment, prosecutors say he forced oral sex on another woman at a Manhattan hotel in the spring of 2006.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office had argued in court filings that holding separate trials would be “extremely inefficient” and a waste of judicial resources. Prosecutors said the cases have significant overlap because they involve similar criminal statutes, witnesses, expert testimony and evidence.
The former mogul was convicted on charges that he forcibly performed oral sex on a television and a film production assistant in 2006, and third-degree rape over an attack on an aspiring actor in 2013. He was photographed on Wednesday.
Jailed movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s health problems continue as he has reportedly been diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia. He will be seen in court in August
Weinstein’s lawyers had argued in court filings that the cases should remain separate. They said prosecutors are seeking to “expand the scope” of the court-ordered new trial and turn it into “an entirely new proceeding” by including the new charges.
There is also the question of when Weinstein’s retrial is expected to actually begin.
Faber had tentatively scheduled Weinstein’s trial to begin on November 12, but both lawyers and prosecutors have expressed concern that the date will not give their side enough time to prepare.
Weinstein was also convicted of rape in Los Angeles in 2022, although his lawyers have appealed.
He has denied raping or sexually assaulting anyone.
Weinstein leaves court on January 6, 2020. He now faces a new trial on two sex crime charges after New York’s highest court overturned his 2020 conviction earlier this year
Weinstein was convicted of a series of sex offenses in New York and Los Angeles and had served a 23-year prison sentence on the East Coast. Pictured: Weinstein with (LR) Taylor Swift, Este Haim, actress Jaime King and Lorde in 2015
Weinstein has been in and out of Bellevue Hospital since returning to Rikers Island from state prison in April after an appeals court overturned his 2020 rape and sexual assault convictions and ordered a new trial.
He underwent pericardiocentesis surgery at Bellevue Hospital in New York City in September after experiencing chest pain.
In July, he was hospitalized with COVID-19 and pneumonia in both lungs, his representatives said.
He had also spent 10 days in Bellevue in April, with Aidala saying the time Weinstein had “a lot of problems” and was “a bit of a train wreck health-wise.”
After his conviction in February 2020, Weinstein left court in an ambulance and made a detour to Bellevue, where he complained of chest pain and high blood pressure. Later, a stent was inserted to unblock an artery.
In 2021, when Weinstein was extradited to California to face rape charges there, his lawyers disclosed a litany of conditions, including: diabetes, coronary artery disease, anemia, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, chronic lower back pain, sciatica, chronic leg pain. pain, arthritis and eye conditions that had seriously affected his vision.