Harvey Weinstein has engaged the services of Luigi Mangione and the attorneys who represented Sean “Diddy” Combs in his legal team for his upcoming third New York rape trial. This move comes after Weinstein decided against pleading guilty and opted for a new legal representation.
The new legal team, consisting of Jacob Kaplan, Marc Agnifilo, and Teny Geragos, was confirmed in court documents on Tuesday. They have taken over from Weinstein’s long-standing attorney, Arthur Aidala, who has shifted his focus to Weinstein’s appeals and other pending legal matters.
Kaplan, a former member of Weinstein’s initial defense team in 2018, is expected to play a prominent role in the upcoming trial. This trial involves an accusation that Weinstein raped hairstylist and actor Jessica Mann in a Manhattan hotel in 2013.
Weinstein, during a hearing in January, vehemently denied the assault allegations and expressed his emotional distress after spending nearly six years in detention.
The trial, initially set for March 3, has been postponed with no new date scheduled. Weinstein is set to appear in court on March 4 for a status conference. The legal publication Law360 was the first to report on the change in Weinstein’s legal representation.
Kaplan and Agnifilo are currently representing Mangione in separate state and federal cases related to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Their legal efforts have resulted in the dismissal of terrorism charges in the state case and the exclusion of the death penalty in the federal case.
Agnifilo and Geragos previously represented Combs, securing a mixed verdict and acquittals on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering. They are currently part of the defense team representing the Alexander brothers in a sex trafficking trial in Manhattan federal court.
All three lawyers, Kaplan, Agnifilo, and Geragos, are partners at the Manhattan-based firm Agnifilo Intrater.
Weinstein’s spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer, stated that Weinstein believes a fresh outlook and strategic approach will be beneficial after two previous trials on the matter.
In the previous trial last June, Weinstein was found guilty of one charge of forcing oral sex on Miriam Haley, acquitted of another charge involving Kaja Sokola, and the jury did not reach a verdict on the rape charge related to Jessica Mann.
Weinstein’s legal team argued that the retrial verdict was influenced by conflicts among jurors. However, Judge Curtis Farber, who will preside over the third trial, dismissed these claims, affirming that Weinstein received a fair trial.
Weinstein’s first convictions in 2020 were overturned by New York’s highest court due to prejudicial testimony. Aidala, who handled the appeal and represented Weinstein in previous trials, reached an amicable agreement with Weinstein regarding his changing role.
The legal proceedings of Mangione’s state trial, scheduled to commence on June 8, may impact the timing of Weinstein’s trial. Despite having only Mann as the accuser, prosecutors anticipate the trial could last up to five weeks.
Weinstein faces a potential 25-year prison sentence for the first-degree criminal sex act conviction involving Haley. The unresolved third-degree rape charge concerning Mann carries a maximum penalty of four years, which is less than the time Weinstein has already served.
Weinstein has been incarcerated since his initial conviction in 2020 and is also appealing a prison sentence in a separate California case.
