NEW YORK (AP) — The defense rested its case Tuesday in Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial, relying on just a few witnesses to supplement aggressive cross-examination as they aimed to undercut his accusers, all while keeping the disgraced Hollywood producer off the witness stand.
As expected, Weinstein chose not to tell his own story at the risk of having prosecutors grill him on cross-examination about disturbing allegations that six of his accusers detailed for a Manhattan jury of seven men and five women.
The decision came a day after the defense got a boost from two witnesses who cast doubt on the accounts of two women who say they were sexually assaulted by Weinstein.
"Weinstein may be able to avoid testifying in the criminal trial, but he will not be afforded that right in his civil trials. I relish the day when I get to cross-examine him and ask him to answer for the wrongs he has committed against so many women," Douglas H. Wigdor, Founding Partner at Wigdor LLP, said in a statement.
Weinstein, 67, is charged with raping a woman in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and forcibly performing oral sex in 2006 on a different woman: film and TV production assistant Mimi Haley.
Prosecutors called other accusers as witnesses as part of an effort to show he has used the same tactics to victimize many women over the years.
Weinstein has maintained any sexual encounters were consensual.
The Associated Press has a policy of not publishing the names of people who allege sexual assault without their consent. It is withholding the name of the woman accusing Weinstein of raping her in 2013 because it isn’t clear if she wishes to be identified publicly.
The judge is expected to instruct jurors not to view Weinstein’s decision not to testify as a sign of guilt.
“I am not a fan of blowing the lead if I feel like we are already on a road to victory,” said Brian McMonagle, a defense lawyer not involved in the case who helped secure a mistrial in Bill Cosby’s first sexual assault trial in 2017.
“In some cases, it is an easy decision because the client either can’t provide a credible explanation or you simply do not believe your client could survive cross examination because of any number or reasons.”
Weinstein has been increasingly upbeat coming and going from court as the trial has worn on, though in front of jurors he has mostly been sitting quietly at the defense table, munching on mints, jotting notes and occasionally dozing off.