Weinstein Plea Deal? NYC DA & Defense Pushed To Talk As Judge Sets New Rape Trial Start

Once again denying that he ever raped anyone, the almost six years long incarcerated Harvey Weinstein could be ending his battles with New York prosecutors.

At least he is considering it, seriously,

Failing today to get a sex act criminal conviction tossed for his client and once again complaining about the conditions at Rikers Island, Weinstein wants to begin negotiations with District Attorney Alvin Bragg‘s office, it was made very clear. “

“Your honor, I did have the chance to speak with Mr. Weinstein, and I would like to pursue plea negotiations,” longtime Weinstein defense lawyer Arthur Aidala told a Judge Curtis Faber and sparsely attend Manhattan courtroom Thursday. The attorney’s remarks came after a brief break in proceedings with Aidala and wheelchair seated Weinstein outside the courtroom.

As it stands, Judge Faber gave once mini-mogul Weinstein and his team two weeks to confirm or reject plea talks with prosecutors. Another hearing is scheduled for February 25 on various motions in the case that are before the court as it heads to another trial.

Today, Weinstein gave the court his now standard line on the dozens of rape, sexual assault and retaliation claims against him since the New York Times’ 2017 expose on the Miramax co-founder’s decades of abuse of women and power. “I know I was unfaithful, I know I acted wrongly, but I never assaulted anyone,” he said, even as the plea deal prospect entered the conversation.

The shift in tactics for the 73-year-old and openly ailing Pulp Fiction producer came as Judge Faber set a March 3 trial start date for charges that Weinstein raped actress Jessica Mann in 2013. This would be the third NYC rape trial for the much accused Weinstein, who was also found guilty on sex crimes in a LA trial in 2022.

A New York state appeal court threw out Weinstein’s 2020 sex crimes conviction in April 2024. Always insisting on his innocance, Weinstein sentenced to 23 years in a state prison after that 2020 trial, Even with the 2020 case being tossed, Weinstein remained behind bars due to his West Coast conviction as a new trial came together.

That second Big Apple trial ended in June 2025 with a mixed verdict.

With tensions in and out of the deliberation room over nearly a week, the seven-woman, five-man jury found the Oscar-winning producer guilty of a first-degree criminal sexual act against Miriam Haley and not guilty of the same act against Kaja Sokola. A mistrial was declared over the jurors’ inability to reach a decision on a charge of third-degree rape involving Mann — which, several motions later, brought us to today for the most part.

Judge Faber was unequivocal Thursday in waving off Weinstein’s contention that two of the jurors were leaned on to convict him on Haley charges. “The Court’s response to the jurors’ complaints appropriately balanced the competing interests of investigating the allegations while avoiding any unnecessary taint of the deliberating jury,” he wrote in a 25-page order and decision.

Getting very specific, Judge Faber added: “While defendant frames Juror 7’s description of overhearing two jurors talking to each other outside of the jury room about their “belief” that another juror had been bribed by defendant as ‘misconduct’ and ‘bias’ (DM at 19), overhearing a baseless accusation does not constitute the kind of outside influence or racial or ethnic bias that falls within the narrow exceptions of the no impeachment rule. Rather, it smacks of a childish and unsupported accusation, in the vein of name calling, that arose from a tense first day of deliberations after a grueling two month trial.” 

Contacted by Deadline, the Manhattan DA’s office declined to comment on potential plea talks with Weinstein. Weinstein’s own reps had no comment at present on the events of this morning.