Prosecutors accuse Weinstein’s lawyer of witness intimidation

The judge overseeing Harvey Weinstein’s retrial on sex crimes charges was asked by the Manhattan district attorney’s office to urge the lead defense lawyer to stop making public statements meant to intimidate and attack witnesses. 

Prosecutors asked Justice Curtis Farber, via a letter filed to the judge on Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court, to remind Weinstein’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, of his “ethical obligations.” The letter detailed obligations specifically pertaining to out-of-court statements intended to question the “credibility and character” of witnesses, under the New York Rules of Professional Conduct.

Aidala was accused of violating the rules during his critical public statements about Miriam Haley. The former TV production assistant testified at Weinstein’s 2020 trial that he forced her to have oral sex in his Manhattan apartment in July 2006. 

Weinstein, the former Hollywood producer who was convicted of committing rape and sexual assault against Haley and another woman, lucked out when his convictions were overturned last month — the New York State Court of Appeals ruled he hadn’t had a fair trial.

Only days after the case was overturned, at a news conference, Aidala accused Haley of lying to the jury. He added that he was well prepared to cross-examine her if she “dares to come and show her face here,” the New York Times reported. 

The prosecutors contested his statements, claiming that his comments crossed the line and were “designed to let Ms. Haley know that if she testifies, Mr. Aidala will make it as unpleasant for her as possible,” according to their letter. They also resisted his claim that Haley had lied to the jury, mentioning it in the footnotes. 

Weinstein’s spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer, defended Weinstein and Aidala in a statement to The Daily Beast on Friday, claiming that the disgraced producer’s name continues to surface in media in “the most awful, leading and suggestive narratives.” 

“Harvey deserves a fair legal playing field, and if that means his lawyers, who are the most knowledgeable and appreciative of the issues and the law, are the right people to speak out, and as long as prosecutors use media to their benefit, defense teams have to be able to as well.”