Disgraced tycoon “can’t see and can’t walk”

• Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty to the grand jury charges of sexual assault and battery in Los Angeles on Monday.
• This was Weinstein’s second indictment after his team failed to get two of the eleven charges dismissed.
• “He can’t walk and he can’t see,” Mark Werksman, his lawyer, said outside the courthouse.

Harvey Weinstein’s attorney, Mark Werksman, said his client “cannot see and cannot walk” after Weinstein was charged for the second time with sexual assault and battery in Los Angeles on Monday.

Weinstein pleaded not guilty to all charges; it was the grand jury’s second indictment after efforts by LA County Attorney’s Office, George Gascón, to challenge the statute of limitations rulings.

Weinstein has been charged with 11 counts of sexual assault against five different women. In recent months, Judge Lisa B. Lench had refused to dismiss two charges against Weinstein.

Dressed in a maroon jumpsuit from the Los Angeles County jail and a mask under his nose, Weinstein only spoke to waive his right to a trial within 120 days of extradition, meaning that the trial will not take place this year.

Outside the courthouse, Werksman said a request for new evidence of “prior acts” by the DA was “part of an early effort to sweep Mr. Weinstein into a tsunami of allegations “. Werksman said his team filed two motions, sealed for ten days, in response.

Asked about Weinstein’s health and behavior, Werksman said: “He’s what they call a removal, which means he has very little contact. almost to solitary confinement. “

“He can’t walk and he can’t see,” Werksman added, referring to Weinstein needing a wheelchair as well as eye surgery.

Weinstein first pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of sexual assault in a Los Angeles court on July 21. He is serving a 23-year sentence in New York City after a New York jury found him guilty in 2020 of third-degree rape and forced sexual assault. of two women.

The prosecutor’s office on Monday filed a “prior acts” motion, to try to include evidence from people who accused Weinstein of sexual assault and is not in the prosecution documents, before the next hearing on October 25. .