NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 Manhattan prosecutors said Tuesday that they intend to bring new sexual assault charges against Harvey Weinstein as they anticipate a November retrial for the disgraced media mogul.
Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg said in court that prosecutors are actively pursuing claims of rape that occurred in Manhattan within the statute of limitations.
She said some potential survivors that were not ready to step forward during Weinstein鈥檚 first New York trial have indicated they are now willing to testify.
But when pressed by the judge, Blumberg said prosecutors have not yet brought their findings to a grand jury. She also said she could not provide the court a timeline for when their investigation will be complete.
鈥淭he People are still investigating in a trauma-informed manner,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat is an ongoing process.鈥
Weinstein鈥檚 lawyer Arthur Aidala, with his client sitting next to him in a wheelchair, suggested the investigation was simply a delay tactic from prosecutors, saying something similar happened ahead of the initial rape trial.
鈥淥nce again, they鈥檙e doing the 鈥1-800-Get-Harvey,鈥 he said outside the courthouse following the morning hearing. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e trying to find someone else to come forward because I guess they feel that their current case is not strong enough.鈥
In court, Blumberg rejected the notion and said the prosecution鈥檚 plan is to proceed to trial in the fall.
鈥淭here鈥檚 certainly no delay tactics on our part,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e proceeding in the most expeditious manner.鈥
When asked by Judge Curtis Farber what month she anticipated, Blumberg responded: 鈥淣ovember would be a realistic timeframe.鈥
Aidala said his client simply wants to get the trial going as soon as possible, noting he鈥檚 in his fifth year of incarceration.
鈥淗e鈥檚 suffering tremendously,鈥 Aidala said, adding that the 72-year-old suffers from macular degeneration, fluid in his lungs and heart and diabetes that is 鈥渢hrough the roof鈥 because of the poor diet behind bars.
鈥淗e鈥檚 basically getting no treatment for any of it,鈥 Aidala said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 not a young man. He鈥檚 a sick man.鈥
鈥淭hese tactics from prosecutors are just delay, delay, delay,鈥 he added.
Judge Farber set the next pre-trial hearing for July 19.
Among those in the packed courtroom Tuesday was Jessica Mann, the former actor Weinstein was convicted of raping his 2020 trial.
Mann did not speak to reporters but prosecutors have said she is prepared to testify against Weinstein again.
Weinstein鈥檚 other accuser, Mimi Haley, did not attend Tuesday鈥檚 hearing and has expressed reluctance about going through the trauma of testifying again. Her lawyer, Gloria Allred, did not respond to an email seeking comment.
The Associated Press does not generally identify people alleging sexual assault unless they consent to be named, as Haley and Mann have.
Weinstein has maintained that any sexual activity was consensual.
He鈥檚 currently in custody at the city鈥檚 Rikers Island jail complex where his lawyers complain he's not receiving adequate medical care and remains essentially in solitary confinement.
鈥淗e was in better shape before his case was reversed when he was upstate in a hospital facility and he was getting treatment and medication,鈥 Aidala said Tuesday after the hearing.
Behind bars, Weinstein calls his representatives nearly every day and reads 鈥減rofusely," he added. His latest read is a book about 20th Century Fox and the movie industry.
In April, Weinstein鈥檚 rape conviction after determining the trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against him based on allegations from other women that were not part of the case.
The reopened a painful chapter in America鈥檚 reckoning with sexual misconduct by powerful figures. The began in 2017 with a flood of allegations against Weinstein.
Weinstein, who had been serving a 23-year sentence in New York, was also in 2022 of another rape and is still sentenced to 16 years in prison in California. But in an in California鈥檚 Second District Court of Appeal, Weinstein鈥檚 lawyers argued he did not get a fair trial in Los Angeles.
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An earlier version of this report had an incorrect spelling of Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg's first name.
