Harvey Weinsteinhas hired a high-profile criminal defense attorney to defend him against multiple sexual assault charges. LawyerJose Baezwill now serve as his lead counsel and will work with Ronald S. Sullivan, a Harvard Law professor. Both also used to work for one of Weinstein’s most prominent accusers, Rose McGowan.
Baez and co-counsel Ronald Sullivan represented the actress, who pled no contest earlier this month to a misdemeanor drug charge. On Wednesday, McGowan said that Baez and Sullivan’s representation of Weinstein, 66, was unethical.
“This is a major conflict of interestbut I knew there was shadiness going on behind the scenes,” she toldThe Daily Beast.
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In a statement to theNew York Times, Sullivan wrote, “We are certainno conflict of interest exists.”
Weinstein wasindicted on charges of rapein the first and third degree as well as a criminal sexual act in the first degree in May. He plednot guiltyin early June and is free on a$1 million bail with GPS monitoring, according to theLos Angeles Times.
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Weinsteinsurrendered to New York authorities in May.He was arrested and chargedwith allegedly raping a woman and forcing another to perform oral sex, police sources confirmed to PEOPLE.
He was also charged with criminal sex act in the first-degree in connection with an alleged 2004 sexual assault on aspiring actress Lucia Evans. (Evans has agreed to be publicly named).
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Weinstein faces several civil cases, as well. In October, he was accused of sexually assaulting a Polish model over a 10-year period beginning in 2002 when she was a 16-year-old aspiring actress — a claim that his civil attorney called “preposterous.” Weinstein is also the defendant in a class action lawsuit in which multiple women have accused him of sexual misconduct.
“Mr. Weinstein steadfastly maintained his innocence in this matter,” Baez tells PEOPLE in a statement. “We are looking forward to assisting him with his defense.”
Baez, 49, is best known for representingCasey Anthonywhen she was charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter,Caylee.
After Anthony’s shocking acquittal, Baez represented a string of high profile defendants, includingBobbi Kristina Brown’sboyfriendNick Gordon, former Aruba murder suspect Gary Gioradano and “King of Instagram”Dan Bilzerian.
Last year, he was lead counsel in the double murder trial offormer NFL star Aaron Hernandez, who was acquitted of the charges before killing himself in prison.
source: people.com
