Harvey Weinstein’s criminal trial in New York City is set to begin today (Jan. 6), and as The Cut’s Irin Carmon notes, his publicist Juda Engelmayer is apparently responding to requests for comment from reporters with a 57-page PowerPoint presentation entitled “The Proper Narrative for Addressing the Harvey Weinstein Case.”
The document, which Engelmayer says was written by “a research team prior to me,” compiles opposition research on his accusers, including photographs and text messages it claims vindicate Weinstein, and argues that there is “no objective support” for any of his alleged victims’ claims because there were “no physical injuries — even scratches” and no witnesses.
“The document frequently shifts in tone, voice, font size, and color, and seems to include some draft notes (‘[ask HW: did they actually meet? Seems possible]’) and strike-throughs,” Carmon writes. “It argues that some women’s allegations of sexual abuse were the result of ‘strong and repeated suggestions from others,’ including press reports and activists. ‘Given the pressures that many women today feel from the various laudatory movements against workplace imbalances, the notion that consensual relations are being reinterpreted cannot be overlooked,’ it says on page 10.”
The PowerPoint also includes a section entitled “Who Harvey Weinstein Is,” which argues that the alleged serial rapist has a “huge heart” because he organized “two extraordinary benefit concerts” and produced “socially important commercial failures” about topics like sexual assault and LGBT characters.
Weinstein’s trial is expected to last up to two months, but in the meantime, the Los Angeles Times is reporting that he is expected to face new charges in L.A. County on Monday.
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