Disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein was “shocked but stoic”, his lawyers claimed after he found guilty on charges of rape and sexual assault, and taken away in handcuffs. One of them claimed he “took it like a man”.
Donna Rotunno claimed it was a “bittersweet day” after the producer was also found not guilty on three other counts.
“We are disappointed. We knew we came in and we were down 35-0 on the day that we started this trial,” she said.
“The jurors came in knowing everything they could know about this case. We couldn't find a juror who had never heard of Harvey Weinstein.”
She said Weinstein will “absolutely be appealing” the verdict. “The fight is not over."
She added: “Weinstein was remanded into custody after the verdict came down. It is absolutely horrible for me to watch my client be taken into custody.”
Asked how he was doing after the verdict, she said: “Harvey is very strong. Harvey is unbelievably strong. He took it like a man. He knows that we will continue to fight for him and knows that this is not over.”
Another lawyer, Arthur Aidala, said his client was surprised with the verdict and maintained his innocence. He said he was “shocked but stoic at the same time”.
“All he kept saying over and over again was, 'I'm innocent. I'm innocent. How could this happen in America? I'm innocent. I'm innocent’,” he said.
Weinstein will be sentenced on March 11. He is facing up to 25 years for the criminal sexual assault conviction and 18 months to four years for the third-degree rape conviction
His lawyers said Weinstein was being taken to a medical facility at Rikers Island jail.
“We will have a very professional appeal done by the best and the brightest in the business,” said Mr Adiala.
Additional reporting by Reuters
