NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein ‘s lawyer portrayed him as the falsely accused “original sinner” of the #MeToo era, while a prosecutor told jurors at his sex crimes retrial Tuesday that the former movie mogul preyed on less-powerful women he thought would never speak up.
The two sides took very different tones in their closing arguments, which are due to conclude Wednesday. Weinstein’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, veered into folksy jokes and theatricality — sometimes re-enacting witnesses’ behavior — as he contended that his client engaged in a “courting game,” not crimes. Prosecutor Nicole Blumberg, as direct as Aidala was discursive, urged jurors to focus on Weinstein’s accusers and their days of grueling testimony.
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