Gavin Newsom on Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction being overturned: "He's a rapist"
WINTERS – Gavin Newsom was asked to comment about Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction being overturned on Thursday, and the California governor didn't mince words.
"Harvey Weinstein is a stone-cold predator. He's a rapist, twice convicted. Not once, twice," Newsom said on Thursday.
New York's highest court overturned the disgraced Hollywood producer's rape conviction on Thursday and ordered a new trial. The New York Court of Appeals said the judge in the Weinstein case made several improper rulings, preventing the now 72-year-old from getting a fair trial.
Jennifer Siebel, Newsom's wife, testified in a different trial in Los Angeles in 2022 that Weinstein raped her in a hotel room in 2005. She was the fourth accuser to testify in that case.
Thursday's developments that saw the New York conviction overturned stemmed from the judge's decision to allow prosecutors to call witnesses whose accusations were not part of the charges against Weinstein, according to the appeals court.
In his comments about the case being overturned, Newsom also called out Weinstein's attorneys Alan Jackson and Mark Werksman by name.
"They should be ashamed of themselves, just generally," Newsom said. "And those who seek to somehow exonerate or explain away Harvey Weinstein's behavior should also be ashamed of themselves."
Weinstein has been serving a 23-year sentence in New York. While the court says he will get a new trial for the 2020 rape conviction, he'll remain in prison due to the conviction in the 2022 Los Angeles case.
"He should never see the light of day. Period, full stop," Newsom said.
Newsom was speaking in Winters on Thursday about California's renewable electricity generation push.
Weinstein's New York attorney celebrated after the state's Supreme Court ruling.
"Today's legal ruling is a great day for America," Attorney Arthur Aidan said.
Actress Ashley Judd, one of Weinstein's accusers, called out the court ruling and called for what she described as institutional courage.
"This today was an act of institutional betrayal," Judd said. "First and foremost, I want to say that I stand in sisterhood and solidarity with all survivors of sexual violence."
Weinstein's California legal team did not respond to requests for a statement.
