Weinstein defense can use governor’s wife’s email at trial
A judge at the trial of Harvey Weinstein is allowing the defense to talk about an email that Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, sent to Weinstein two years after the film mogul allegedly raped her
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jurors in the trial of Harvey Weinstein will be allowed to hear that Jennifer Siebel Newsom, wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, emailed the movie magnate for advice about dealing with the media amid a scandal involving Gavin Newsom two years after Weinstein allegedly raped and sexually assaulted her, a judge ruled Monday.
The judge granted narrow permission to the defense to introduce evidence of the email sent to Weinstein in 2007, when Gavin Newsom was mayor of San Francisco and was dating Siebel Newsom.
But Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa B. Lench forbid the defense from discussing the underlying issue behind the email — the revelation of an affair Newsom had had in 2005 with an aide. Lench called it “too tangential in relation to this trial.”
Weinstein attorney Mark Werksman argued adamantly for the inclusion of the details.
