According to a judge’s ruling on Monday, the jury in Harvey Weinstein’s trial will be able to learn that Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom, emailed the movie mogul for media advice during a scandal involving the governor two years after Weinstein allegedly raped and sexually assaulted her.
Gavin Newsom was the mayor of San Francisco at the time, and Siebel Newsom was dating Gavin Newsom at the time. The court allowed the defense limited ability to present evidence of the email addressed to Weinstein in 2007.
However, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa B. Lench barred the defense from addressing the main problem raised by the email, which was the admission of an affair Newsom had with a staff member in 2005. It was “too tangential in regard to this trial,” according to Lench.
Mark Werksman, an attorney representing Weinstein, vehemently argued in favor of releasing the specifics.
Asking Harvey Weinstein for advice on how to handle a sex scandal is one of the things you’d imagine a woman who has been raped by him wouldn’t do, according to Werksman.
Marlene Martinez, a deputy district attorney, said, “I’m not sure how Mr. Werksman understands” how a rape victim would act.
They don’t respond the way a person who hasn’t been sexually assaulted would, according to Martinez.
Werksman contended that the email’s contents are crucial, claiming that Siebel Newsom and the other accusers in the trial needed to understand Weinstein’s power dynamics.
He said that it was crucial to Weinstein’s rights that the court permit that line of inquiry, saying, “When her lover the mayor seduces an underling’s wife and becomes scandalized over it, she stands with the mayor.”
By claiming Weinstein’s due process was in jeopardy, the attorney, according to the court, was exaggerating the issue.
Lench remarked, “Very theatrical, Mr. Werksman.
“Your honor, forgive the melodrama,” Werksman retorted.
Weinstein is accused of raping Siebel Newsom in 2004 or 2005 at a Beverly Hills hotel.
He is already serving a 23-year prison term on a rape and sexual assault conviction in New York. He is now accused with 11 charges of rape and sexual assault involving five women.
Gavin Newsom is an actor and documentary filmmaker who got engaged in 2006 and married in 2008. He was elected governor in 2018.
The judge also permitted the prosecution to play for the jury a covert recording that Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, a future witness in the case, made of Weinstein with the assistance of New York police in 2015. In the recording, Weinstein expressed regret for his behavior in a prior meeting, where she claimed he had touched her thigh and grabbed her breasts.
Police looked into the event, but no charges were filed by the prosecution. This decision was questioned in 2017 when a flurry of complaints against Weinstein sparked the #MeToo movement.
The court said, “It appears to me that it is acceptable to the degree that it represents an admission.”
After talking with the defense, all parties decided he should play the whole 43 minutes of the video, contrary to what deputy district attorney Paul Thompson had first suggested.
Italian model Gutierrez is one of four women who have been permitted to testify in the trial regarding Weinstein’s sexual misconduct, even though their claims are unrelated to those with which he is accused.
When someone claims they have been sexually assaulted, The Associated Press normally does not identify them unless they have come out publicly, as Gutierrez has.
The Los Angeles Times was the first to reveal Siebel Newsom’s name, and her lawyer has confirmed to the AP and other media sources that she is one of the accusers of sexual assault against Weinstein who will appear in court.
The court and potential jurors began jury selection in the afternoon following a day and a half of debating motions on the evidence that would be heard during the trial, including one in which actor-director Mel Gibson was authorized as a prosecution witness.
During the process, Siebel Newsom was mentioned once more.
What if I told you that one of those witnesses would be the governor’s wife?
By the way, will she be?” Alan Jackson, a counsel for Weinstein, questioned the jurors.
This was previously known to the judging panel according to the questionnaire they completed last week.
None of them said that their perception of the governor or his wife would have an impact on their decision-making.
When questioned by Thompson, at least five jurors said they were unaware of the #MeToo movement.
Those that had strong opinions about the movement had a variety of opinions.
One lady replied, “I believe in the feminine voice being vocal.”
Another lady said that she didn’t appreciate those who decided, “after 10 years, ‘yeah this happened to me too,’”
She said, “I suppose they’re trying for their 15 minutes of glory.