<p>Harvey Weinstein's defense lawyer went back on the offensive Monday, petitioning a New York court to throw out the entire remaining sex assault case against his client, alleging new evidence and fresh police misconduct.</p>

<p>Last month, a judge threw out one of six original assault charges -- of a forced act of oral sex in 2004 lodged by Lucia Evans against the disgraced movie mogul -- due to witness inconsistencies and police misconduct.</p>

<p>On Monday, defense lawyer Ben Brafman asked for the five remaining charges to be dismissed or for the court to hold a hearing to "determine the full extent" of what he called "misconduct."</p>

<p>He suggested a police detective had committed "additional misconduct" involving one Weinstein's accusers, failing to disclose that the two continued to communicate after the alleged assault.</p>

<p>Brafman had already asked in August for the entire case to be thrown out, disclosing emails that allegedly showed his client and the alleged rape victim were in a "long-term, consensual, intimate relationship."</p>

<p>On Monday, he followed up with another extensive court filing and released what he said was a text message, sent by one of the Weinstein accusers, months after the alleged assault in which she seemingly tried to meet up with him.</p>

<p>"Hi! Just wondering if u have any news on whether harvey will have time to see me before he leaves? x Miriam," she allegedly texted in February 2007.</p>

<p>Brafman complained that police misconduct and perjury committed by Evans "irreparably prejudiced the grand jury" and that messages from another accuser Mimi Haleyi to Weinstein show that any sexual contact was "purely consensual."</p>

<p>He also sought to toss two sexual predator charges, the most serious against Weinstein, on the basis of "constitutionally flawed legal&nbsp;theories and not supported by credible evidence."</p>

<p>The judge dropped the 2004 charge after a detective failed to turn over details from a witness interview, and a draft email from Evans to her husband that exposed further inconsistencies in her account.</p>

<p>As things stand, Weinstein, accused by more than 80 women of sexual misconduct, could still spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted of rape in March 2013 and a forced act of oral sex in 2006.</p>

<p>The 66-year-old was arrested in May. He is at large on a US $1 million bail and denies any non-consensual sex.</p>

<p>His arrest and arraignments have led #MeToo campaigners to hope that the twice-married father of five will be put on trial, convicted and sent to prison.</p>

<p>The next hearing is scheduled for December 20.</p>

<p>Brafman, one of the most celebrated criminal defense attorneys in America, helped former IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn escape criminal prosecution for alleged sexual assault in 2011.</p>


Harvey Weinstein's defense lawyer went back on the offensive Monday, petitioning a New York court to throw out the entire remaining sex assault case against his client, alleging new evidence and fresh police misconduct.

Harvey Weinstein's defense lawyer went back on the offensive Monday, petitioning a New York court to throw out the entire remaining sex assault case against his client, alleging new evidence and fresh police misconduct. Last month, a judge threw out one of six original assault charges -- of a forced act of oral sex in 2004 lodged by Lucia Evans against the disgraced movie mogul -- due to witness inconsistencies and police misconduct. On Monday, defense lawyer Ben Brafman asked for the five remaining charges to be dismissed or for the court to hold a hearing to "determine the full extent" of what he called "misconduct." He suggested a police detective had committed "additional misconduct" involving one Weinstein's accusers, failing to disclose that the two continued to communicate after the alleged assault. Brafman had already asked in August for the entire case to be thrown out, disclosing emails that allegedly showed his client and the alleged rape victim were in a "long-term, consensual, intimate relationship." On Monday, he followed up with another extensive court filing and released what he said was a text message, sent by one of the Weinstein accusers, months after the alleged assault in which she seemingly tried to meet up with him. "Hi! Just wondering if u have any news on whether harvey will have time to see me before he leaves? x Miriam," she allegedly texted in February 2007. Brafman complained that police misconduct and perjury committed by Evans "irreparably prejudiced the grand jury" and that messages from another accuser Mimi Haleyi to Weinstein show that any sexual contact was "purely consensual." He also sought to toss two sexual predator charges, the most serious against Weinstein, on the basis of "constitutionally flawed legal theories and not supported by credible evidence." The judge dropped the 2004 charge after a detective failed to turn over details from a witness interview, and a draft email from Evans to her husband that exposed further inconsistencies in her account. As things stand, Weinstein, accused by more than 80 women of sexual misconduct, could still spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted of rape in March 2013 and a forced act of oral sex in 2006. The 66-year-old was arrested in May. He is at large on a US $1 million bail and denies any non-consensual sex. His arrest and arraignments have led #MeToo campaigners to hope that the twice-married father of five will be put on trial, convicted and sent to prison. The next hearing is scheduled for December 20. Brafman, one of the most celebrated criminal defense attorneys in America, helped former IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn escape criminal prosecution for alleged sexual assault in 2011.

Defence seeks to toss all Weinstein sex charges

<p>British singer and songwriter Seal slammed Oprah Winfrey on Wednesday following her inspirational speech at the Golden Globes this week, branding&nbsp;the talk show queen as&nbsp;part of &ldquo;sanctimonious Hollywood&rdquo;.</p>

<p>Seal posted two pictures of Winfrey with Weinstein on his Instagram on Wednesday whose caption read: Oh I forgot, that&#39;s right.....you&#39;d heard the rumours but you had no idea he was actually serially assaulting young starry-eyed actresses who in turn had no idea what they were getting into. My bad.<br />
#SanctimoniousHollywood.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Pictures from 2014 show Winfrey embracing and kissing Weinstein and the pair who were understood to be &quot;good friends&quot; and had&nbsp;a professional relationship.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The<em> Kiss From A Rose</em> singer further captioned the picture &#39;When you have been part of the problem for decades... but suddenly they all think you are the solution.&#39;</p>

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<p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bdw9Onnn7og/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Oh I forgot, that&#39;s right.....you&#39;d heard the rumours but you had no idea he was actually serially assaulting young stary-eyed actresses who in turn had no idea what they were getting into. My bad. #SanctimoniousHollywood</a></p>

<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/seal/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> SEAL</a> (@seal) on <time datetime="2018-01-10T10:05:15+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;">Jan 10, 2018 at 2:05am PST</time></p>
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<p>Although, it is unclear if Oprah actually knew of the numerous claims against Weinstein which came into the limelight in 2017.</p>

<p>The talk show queen had previously commented about the incident when the news broke, saying: &#39;I&rsquo;ve been processing the accounts of Harvey Weinstein&#39;s hideous behaviour and haven&rsquo;t been able to find the words to articulate the magnitude of the situation,&#39; before sharing a quote from filmmaker James Schamus.</p>

<p>Oprah&#39;s speech gained widespread recognition at the Golden Globes Award on Sunday where she addressed experiences of sexually abused women and the &#39;MeToo&#39; movement.</p>

<p>Reports say that her speech was likened to a campaign speech, which led to talks of the former talk show queen eyeing a potential presidential run in 2020.</p>


Pictures from 2014 show Winfrey embracing and kissing Weinstein and the pair were understood to be good friends with a professional relationship

British singer and songwriter Seal slammed Oprah Winfrey on Wednesday following her inspirational speech at the Golden Globes this week, branding the talk show queen as part of “sanctimonious Hollywood”. Seal posted two pictures of Winfrey with Weinstein on his Instagram on Wednesday whose caption read: Oh I forgot, that's right.....you'd heard the rumours but you had no idea he was actually serially assaulting young starry-eyed actresses who in turn had no idea what they were getting into. My bad. #SanctimoniousHollywood. Pictures from 2014 show Winfrey embracing and kissing Weinstein and the pair who were understood to be "good friends" and had a professional relationship. The Kiss From A Rose singer further captioned the picture 'When you have been part of the problem for decades... but suddenly they all think you are the solution.' Oh I forgot, that's right.....you'd heard the rumours but you had no idea he was actually serially assaulting young stary-eyed actresses who in turn had no idea what they were getting into. My bad. #SanctimoniousHollywood A post shared by SEAL (@seal) on Jan 10, 2018 at 2:05am PST × Although, it is unclear if Oprah actually knew of the numerous claims against Weinstein which came into the limelight in 2017. The talk show queen had previously commented about the incident when the news broke, saying: 'I’ve been processing the accounts of Harvey Weinstein's hideous behaviour and haven’t been able to find the words to articulate the magnitude of the situation,' before sharing a quote from filmmaker James Schamus. Oprah's speech gained widespread recognition at the Golden Globes Award on Sunday where she addressed experiences of sexually abused women and the 'MeToo' movement. Reports say that her speech was likened to a campaign speech, which led to talks of the former talk show queen eyeing a potential presidential run in 2020.

Seal slams Oprah Winfrey for 'ignoring rumours' about Harry Weinstein

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Defence seeks to toss all Weinstein sex charges

Seal slams Oprah Winfrey for 'ignoring rumours' about Harry Weinstein