Harvey Weinstein Prosecutor Slams Ex-Mogul’s Team For ‘Jury Tampering’
The prosecutors on the Harvey Weinstein rape case are slamming the ex-movie mogul’s lead defense attorney for jury tampering, after she wrote an op-ed piece on the eve of deliberations.
Despite being instructed by Judge James Burke to not give media interviews, Weinstein’s attorney Donna Rutunno published to Newsweek on Sunday, “I implore the members of this jury to do what they know is right and was expected of them from the moment they were called upon to serve their civic duty in a court of law.”
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Assistant D.A. Joan Illuzzi told the judge, “If this is the conduct that is allowed to persist in this courthouse, then we are all lost. It’s completely, 100% inappropriate behavior. It borders on tampering with the jury.” Rotunno retorted, “This is not a letter to the jury. This was an op-ed on my feeling on the system as a whole.”
Subsequently, Justice Burke did not grant the prosecution’s request to sanction Weinstein’s defense team, but warned them to again refrain from publicly communicating about the trial.
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He says, “I will caution you about the tentacles of your public relations juggernaut.”
Moving forward with the trial, the jury is expected to begin deliberations today. Weinstein faces five felony charges for predatory sexual assault; first and third-degree rape; and forcible sexual act.