California governor’s wife among accusers at Weinstein trial

Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who is a documentary marker and the wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom, will appear at Harvey Weinstein’s rape and sexual assault trial that began on Monday.  

Jennifer Newsom recently directed “The Great American Lie” in 2020 and “Fair Play” this year.

Newsom’s attorney, Elizabeth Fegan confirmed her appearance.

“Like many other women, my client was sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein at a purported business meeting that turned out to be a trap. She intends to testify at his trial in order to seek some measure of justice for survivors, and as part of her life’s work to improve the lives of women,” Fegan said.

Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of rape and sexual assault involving 5 women, one of them Newsom. All the women who take the stand will testify anonymously.

Weinstein, 70, is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence after a prior conviction in New York. Weinstein has been given permission to take his appeal of his 2020 sex crime conviction to the New York State Court of Appeals.

Weinstein is currently being held in a Los Angeles County jail.

67 potential jurors appeared in court for jury selection. The judge addressed them to remind them that at this stage, Weinstein is innocent until proven guilty

“As Weinstein sits before you, he is innocent,” Judge Lisa B. Lench said to the potential jurors. “If someone were to ask you for your vote right now, you would have to vote not guilty.”

The judge also explained the nature of a fair trial and defined the charges against Weinstein as “essentially sexual assaults, or assaults of a sexual nature.”

The judge also noted that this case is likely to attract a significant amount of media attention. “I expect this case to get a fair amount of media attention and you are going to have to be vigilant,” the judge told the jurors.

The day ended with the judge dismissing 11 jurors leaving a pool of 56 available.