NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein has hired lawyers Luigi Mangione and Sean “Diddy” Combs to represent him in his third rape trial in New York, reorganizing his legal team after refusing to end the matter with a guilty plea.
Attorneys Jacob Kaplan, Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos confirmed the move in court documents Tuesday. They replace Weinstein’s longtime lawyer Arthur Aidala, who gave up his courtroom role to focus on the former studio boss’s appeals and pending civil cases.
Kaplan was a member of Weinstein’s initial defense team in 2018 and is expected to play a leading role in the third trial, which involves allegations that the Oscar-winning producer raped hairstylist and actress Jessica Mann at a Manhattan hotel in 2013.
At a hearing in January, Weinstein insisted he had “never assaulted anyone” and said he had a “mental breakdown” after nearly six years in prison.
The trial was postponed from March 3 and has not yet been rescheduled. Weinstein will appear in court on March 4 for a status conference. Legal publication Law360 first reported the changes to the legal team.
Kaplan and Agnifilo represent Mangione in his parallel state and federal cases in the slaying of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. They succeeded in throwing out terrorism charges in state cases and banning the death penalty in federal cases.
Agnifilo and Geragos represented Combs in a split verdict and acquittal on sex trafficking and racketeering charges and are currently among the defense attorneys for wealthy brothers Alon, Oren and Tal Alexander in their sex trafficking trial in Manhattan federal court.
Kaplan, Agnifilo and Geragos are all partners at the Manhattan firm Agnifilo Intrater.
“Harvey believes that, after two trials of this matter, a recalibrated outlook and strategic approach provides the most effective path forward,” Weinstein spokesperson Juda Engelmayer said.
Last June, in a messy split verdict, Weinstein was convicted of forcing oral sex on one woman, Miriam Haley, but acquitted of another, Kaja Sokola, and the jury did not reach a verdict on the rape charge involving Mann. Deliberations ended when the foreman refused further involvement.
The AP generally does not name people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they get permission, which Haley, Sokola and Mann have done.
Weinstein and his lawyers argued that the retrial verdict was tainted by infighting and bullying among jurors. Judge Curtis Farber, who will also oversee the third trial, rejected that, telling Weinstein at a January hearing: “You got a fair trial.”
Weinstein was convicted of raping Mann and forcing Haley to perform oral sex during his first trial in 2020, but New York’s Supreme Court overturned those convictions and ordered a retrial last year. The appeals court ruled that Weinstein was prejudiced by his testimony about allegations that were not part of the case.
Weinstein and Aidara, who argued the case on appeal and represented Weinstein at the initial and retrials, appeared to have reached a mutually amicable agreement on the changing roles of attorneys.
“Our work doesn’t end here,” Aidara said. “We will continue to vigorously defend him in the Court of Appeal and we are confident that the serious legal errors will be resolved and his most significant conviction will ultimately be overturned.”
Kaplan, Agnifilo and Geragos are working on several high-profile cases, including the Mangione state trial that is scheduled to begin on June 8, which could affect the timing of Weinstein’s trial. Even without a accuser other than Mann, prosecutors said that could take up to five weeks.
Weinstein faces up to 25 years in prison after being convicted of first-degree sexual conduct involving Haley. The pending third-degree rape charge involving Mann carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison – less than what he has already served.
The Oscar-winning producer has been in jail since his first conviction in 2020 and was sentenced to prison in a separate California case that he is appealing.
