Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein may need to think about hiring a new lawyer.
Then again, perhaps attorney Benjamin Braffman doesn’t have a lot to work with in this case.
Braffman told reporters Friday morning that his client didn’t “intentionally” violate any law. The lawyer also argued that Weinstein, who turned himself over to the authorities Friday morning amid an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, including rape, didn’t create the “casting couch.”
“Let me say this without defending behavior. My job is not to defend behavior. My job is to defend something that is criminal behavior,” the attorney said in response to a question that noted several women have alleged of pattern of misconduct against the Hollywood producer.
Braffman added, “Bad behavior, um, Mr. Weinstein did not invent the casting couch in Hollywood. And to the extent that there is bad behavior in that industry, that is not what this is about. Bad behavior is not on trial in this case. It’s only if you intentionally committed a criminal act, and Mr. Weinstein vigorously denies that.”
Journalists again pressed the attorney to address the women who definitely allege criminal behavior.
“People don’t get convicted on accusations,” Braffman responded. “People get convicted only when there is credible evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. And, in this case, I do not believe that the district attorney has that, nor do I believe that Mr. Weinstein has intentionally violated the law.”
Video of Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer’s casting couch defense: pic.twitter.com/LOddn7YoEh
— T. Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) May 25, 2018
Weinstein’s attorney also said Friday they will enter a plea of not guilty.
“We intend to move very quickly to dismiss these charges. We believe they are constitutionally flawed. We believe they are not factually supported by the evidence, and we believe that at the end of the process, Mr. Weinstein will be exonerated,” Braffman said.
He added, “He voluntarily surrendered this morning and we have met all of the bail conditions by agreement so we would not have extended court proceedings.”
Bail was set for Weinstein at $1 million.
“Someone inside asked me how Mr. Weinstein feels this morning, and my response was, ‘As well as you can be expected when you are accused of a crime, you vehemently deny having committed,” Braffman said.
Weinstein’s decision to turn himself over to the authorities is big news. The “not guilty” plea is also news. But the really curious takeaway here is that Braffman concedes his client almost certainly abused his position and power to coerce sexual favors from women, and that many others do the same in Hollywood.
I’m not an attorney, but any legal defense that includes some variation of “yes, my client is a monster, but he’s a legal monster,” doesn’t seem like a defense that’s well-suited to endear one’s client to the court.
If Braffman’s aim is to convince the court that Weinstein didn’t “intentionally” violate the law, isn’t he making his job more difficult by conceding the point that his client is a monstrously unethical person? It as if to argue, “yes, Weinstein is an abusive villain, but he would never knowingly break the law.”
If they stick with this line, that means they’ll also have to downplay the “casting couch” allegations, which Braffman all but confirmed Friday, as merely “bad behavior.”
Good luck with that.
