Harvey Weinstein is "in disbelief" but "not delusional" about his conviction, one of his lawyers says, as he remains under care at Bellevue Hospital before being transferred to Rikers Island where he'll be put behind bars.
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"He's still in disbelief of the charges he was convicted of. He's very consistent about his innocence," Weinstein lawyer Arthur Aidala told Variety over the phone late on Wednesday night.
Weinstein was convicted on Monday on two felony charges: a criminal sex act in the first-degree for assaulting Miriam Haley in 2006 and rape in the third-degree for raping Jessica Mann in a New York City hotel room in 2013.
Aidala, who visited Weinstein in the hospital this week, gave some insight into Weinstein's thoughts about his conviction.
"He's realistic, and he knows he's got a major problem. He's not delusional," Weinstein's lawyer said.
"But at the same time, we didn't get into anything about him being apologetic. He's very consistent that he didn't do anything wrong - he didn't do anything against anyone's will."
"The Jessica Mann charge is ridiculous. They were boyfriend and girlfriend. That was the no-means-no rape - it wasn't the forcible rape," he said of the third-degree charge.
"The thing with Mimi," Aidala continued, "Mr Weinstein said, 'If I really violated her, is she really going to have consensual sex with me a few days later?' That just didn't happen."
When Aidala visited Weinstein in his hospital room, his client was in relatively good spirits, the lawyer claimed, as they discussed their plan forward to appeal the New York conviction and what the next steps are for the Los Angeles trial.
"I was prepared for the worst. I was expecting to see him in really bad shape, but he wasn't. He was okay," Aidala said, describing Weinstein's hospital room as having an EKG machine.
"He was in a good state of mind. Obviously, he doesn't really want to be there, but it wasn't like he was sitting there in a cage - it looked like a regular hospital room with a regular hospital bed."
Aidala added that the two ate lunch together, and the food was "pretty good," since Weinstein is getting regular hospital food for lunch - not prison food, yet.
Aidala insisted he does not know the exact reason why Weinstein was admitted to the hospital but said that his client is not faking health problems.
Weinstein's sentencing is set for March 11.
Australian Associated Press
