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Harvey Weinstein Jury Rehears Testimony From Sex Assault Accuser

The jury in the Harvey Weinstein trial asked on Wednesday to have a substantial portion of Miriam Haley’s testimony read back to them, indicating that the panel is slowly working its way through the charges against the producer.

Haley testified on Jan. 27 that Weinstein invited her to his Soho apartment on July 10, 2006. She said that he pinned her on a bed and performed oral sex on her while she said “No, no.” She also testified that two weeks later, Weinstein had sex with her at the Tribeca Grand Hotel, while calling her a “whore” and a “bitch.”

The jurors asked to hear the testimony of both incidents, including both the direct examination and cross-examination. On cross-examination, defense attorney Damon Cheronis had argued that Haley fabricated her allegations against Weinstein in 2017 because it was no longer “in vogue” to be friends with the producer.

The read-back took about one hour and 15 minutes. The jurors mostly seemed intently focused on listening to the testimony, and some took notes.

The jury also asked for emails between Weinstein and Haley. The defense had pointed to emails after the alleged sexual assault in which Haley thanked the producer, and signed off with “Lots of love,” arguing they showed that the two had an affectionate relationship.

Before the lunch break on Wednesday, Cheronis asked Justice James Burke to issue a gag order to bar Gloria Allred from speaking to the press. Allred, who represents Haley, has been attending the trial and offering comments to reporters outside court. Burke denied the request, saying “I wish I had that kind of authority.”

Earlier, the defense made another bid to remove a white female juror from the panel. The juror is an author who wrote a book about predatory older men, and the defense has repeatedly tried to get her kicked off the case. On Tuesday, the defense argued that the woman had been reading books during the trial that were tangentially related to the issues in the case. Burke again denied that request on Wednesday.

“My finding is, nonetheless, that she just hasn’t done anything wrong,” Burke said.

The novelist is one of two white women on the panel, both of whom were seated after the defense ran out of peremptory challenges. During the jury selection process, the prosecution accused the defense of trying to keep young white women off the jury. The makeup of the jury is five women and seven men.

On Wednesday morning, the jury also sent a note requesting more clarity on the two charges involving Haley. “Please re-read us the charges against the defendant for numbers 1 and 2,” the jurors asked.

On Tuesday, the jurors requested to see the blueprint of the apartment where Haley alleges Weinstein sexually assaulted her.

They also asked to see emails in which Weinstein identified a “red flag list” of potential accusers, including actress Annabella Sciorra. The jurors have yet to ask any detailed questions regarding the other key accuser, Jessica Mann, whose allegations are the basis of Counts 3, 4 and 5.

When Weinstein arrived to court on Wednesday with his attorneys, he did not respond to any questions from the press line. The Weinstein team has previously been chatty with reporters on days they appear to be confident, such as last week’s closing arguments.

Mackenzie Nichols contributed to this report.

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