Disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein will not testify before a grand jury determining whether or not to indict him on charges of sexual assault and other crimes, his lawyers have said.
Lawyers for Mr Weinstein said their client only learned the names of his accusers and the specific charges against him when he turned himself in to police on Friday. With a deadline set for Wednesday afternoon to testify, the lawyers said Mr Weinstein would not have enough time to prepare.
“After being unfairly denied access to critical information about this case that was needed to defend him before the grand jury, Mr Weinstein’s attorneys decided that there was not sufficient time to properly prepare Mr Weinstein,” said Benjamin Brafman, the producer's lead criminal lawyer, in a statement on Wednesday morning. He added the the defence's request for more time had been denied.
Mr Weinstein faces charges of first-degree rape and other sex crimes in cases involving two women in New York. Dozens of other women have accused him of everything from sexual harassment to assault, and he is under criminal investigation in both Los Angeles and the UK. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, and denied all allegations of sexual assault.
Mr Brafman claimed on Wednesday that an indictment was "inevitable" in the New York case, due to the "unfair political pressure being placed on [Manhattan District Attorney] Cy Vance to secure a conviction".
The allegations against Mr Weinstein have received extensive media coverage, after a New York Times expose detailed years of his alleged abuse of employees and aspiring actresses. The 66-year-old has since been kicked out of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which votes on the Oscars, and removed from the Producers Guild of America.
His next court appearance is scheduled for 30 July.
