Judge Rejects Harvey Weinstein’s Motion To Dismiss His Sexual Assault Case

#MeToo activists enjoyed a small victory on Thursday when a New York judge rejected Harvey Weinstein’s motion to dismiss the five counts of rape and sexual assault he’s facing.
Benjamin Brafman, the disgraced movie mogul’s attorney, had built a case that the charges had been brought upon political pressure, also arguing that the Manhattan D.A. failed to hand in exculpatory evidence — like witnesses and communications — that would prove consensual relationships with all the accusers.
Weinstein argued that this misconduct of his prosecution required dismissal; but the judge ruled against it, privately telling attorneys at Thursday’s hearing that the case would continue on its path to trial.
Related: Nicole Kidman Talks Harvey Weinstein & MeToo!
It was an outcome many were hoping for, especially those involved in #MeToo and Time’s Up movements which stemmed from the allegations levied against Weinstein last year. Several activists involved in these movements made their presence known at the hearing.
Marisa Tomei, Amber Tamblyn, Kathy Najimy, and Time’s Up president Lisa Borders were among those who gathered at New York Supreme Court wearing Time’s Up T-shirts, as seen in a tweet from Tamblyn:

This morning we showed up in Criminal court to witness Harvey Weinstein and his case not be dismissed. It is a small victory. But there’s a long way to go. We’ll be there again on March 7th and look forward to seeing him prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. #TIMESUP pic.twitter.com/NDk5q9NMc6

— Amber Tamblyn (@ambertamblyn) December 20, 2018

In a written decision following the hearing, New York Supreme Court Justice James Burke rejected Weinstein’s claims that the proceeding was flawed, writing that he found “no basis for the defendent’s claim of prosecutorial or law enforcement misconduct in the proceedings.”
As for the Weinstein defense team’s attempts to discredit accusers by showing email correspondence with the producer, Burke wrote that “the defendant may explore any issues of witness credibility at a trial should such witnesses testify.”
The next hearing is set for March 7.
[Image via Drew Altizer/WENN,]