Harvey Weinstein hires Luigi Mangione, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs lawyers for upcoming trial.
Harvey Weinstein has hired the lawyers of Luigi Mangione and Sean “Diddy” Combs to represent him in his third rape trial in New York, reshaping his legal team after refusing to settle the case by pleading guilty.
The lawyers, Jacob Kaplan, Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos, confirmed this in court papers on Tuesday. They are taking over from Weinstein’s longtime attorney, Arthur Aidala, who gave up his courtroom role to focus on the former studio boss’s complaints and pending civil matters.
Kaplan was a member of Weinstein’s original defense team in 2018 and is expected to play a leading role in his defense in the third trial, which involves the Oscar-winning producer raping hairstylist and actress Jessica Mann at a Manhattan hotel in 2013.
In court in January, Weinstein insisted he had “never attacked anyone” and said his “spirit was broken” by nearly six years in prison.
The case, adjourned since March 3, has not been adjourned. Weinstein will appear in court on March 4 for a status conference. Legal publication Law360 first reported the legal team’s attempt.
Kaplan and Agnifilo represented Mangione in his similar case and in the murder of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson. They succeeded in having the terrorism charges dismissed in federal court and the death penalty barred from federal court proceedings.
Agnifilo and Geragos represented Combs, obtained a split verdict and acquittal on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, and are currently among the attorneys defending wealthy brothers Alon, Oren and Tal Alexander in their sex trafficking case in Manhattan federal court.
Kaplan, Agnifilo and Geragos are all partners in the Manhattan firm Agnifilo Intrater.
“Harvey believes that, after two previous trials on this issue, a changed perspective and strategic approach provides the most effective way forward,” Weinstein spokesman Judah Engelmayer said.
In a devastating decision to separate Weinstein last June, Weinstein was convicted of forcing oral sex on one woman, Miriam Haley, who was found guilty of forcing oral sex on another woman, Kaja Sokola, and the jury did not rule on the rape charge involving Mann. Negotiations ended when the forward refused to participate.
The Associated Press rarely identifies victims of sexual harassment unless they give consent, which Haley, Sokola and Mann did.
Weinstein and his lawyers have argued that the retrial decision was marred by disagreements and partisanship among the jurors. Judge Curtis Farber, who will also preside over the third trial, rejected that, telling Weinstein at a hearing in January: “He was given a fair trial.”
In his first trial, in 2020, Weinstein was convicted of raping Mann and forcing Haley to perform oral sex, but New York’s highest court threw out those charges and ordered a retrial last year. The Court of Appeals ruled that Weinstein was prejudiced by evidence about the allegations that were not part of the case.
Weinstein and Aidala, who contested the appeal and represented Weinstein in his original trial and retrial, appeared to be reaching a mutual agreement on the lawyer’s evolving role.
“Our work does not end here,” said Aidala. “We will continue to advocate for him vigorously in the appeals courts, where we hope that the grave wrongs will be righted and his most significant conviction will ultimately be overturned.”
Kaplan, Agnifilo and Geragos are among several high-profile cases, including Mangione’s trial scheduled to begin June 8, which could disrupt Weinstein’s trial. Even with no accusers other than Mann, prosecutors say it could take up to five weeks.
Weinstein faces up to 25 years in prison for the crime he was convicted of: the first sexual act involving Haley. The pending third-degree rape charge involving Mann carries a sentence of up to four years — less than which he has already served.
The Oscar-winning producer has been behind bars since his first conviction in 2020, and was sentenced to prison in another California case that he is appealing.
