Ep. 16 | A Call From Ronan Farrow
The Harvey Weinstein Trial: Unfiltered
The Unreported Story Society
4.2 • 857 Ratings
🗓️ 14 February 2020
⏱️ 57 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On Thursday the jury heard the defense's closing argument. It lasted all day with attorney Donna Rotunno arguing that movie producer Harvey Weinstein is the target of a movement and that the jury is the last ling of defense against an overzealous media. Rotunno argued that accuser Annabella Sciorra relabelled a "crazy" consensual encounter and become a part of a movement to boost her flagging career. Rotunno also reminded the jury that Sciorra originally denied being attacked by Weinstein when she was asked by Ronan Farrow in 2017. She also attacked the credibility of Jessica Mann, one of Weinstein's main accusers, saying that the former aspiring actress "reframes" her positive emails and interactions for the jury. Rotunno further argued that in the emails between Mann and Weinstein, Weinstein showed himself to be a kind and caring friend to Mann. She added that in all the email traffic between him and his accusers there is no suggestion that he assaulted any of the women - all the emails are friendly.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, I'm Anne McElheney. |
| 0:02.0 | And I'm Phylla Michaelier. |
| 0:03.0 | And welcome to Day 16 of the Harvey Weinstein trial, unfiltered, a daily podcast using reenactments of the most dramatic |
| 0:08.3 | moments of verbatim testimony from the trial. |
| 0:11.0 | But first, let's just remind you of what this trial is all about. In a case that basically launched the Me Too movement, |
| 0:16.2 | movie producer Harvey Weinstein faces two charges of rape and one of a criminal sex |
| 0:21.1 | act concerning two separate women. |
| 0:23.0 | He also faces charges of predatory sexual assault which carry a possible life sentence. |
| 0:27.8 | So today Donna Ratona was doing the closing arguments for the defense and a little bit about who she is. |
| 0:33.5 | She thinks that the Me Too movement is dangerous. |
| 0:36.0 | She says we can't have movements that strip us of our fundamental rights. |
| 0:40.0 | She gave an interview and said that. |
| 0:41.5 | What happens with Believe All Women |
| 0:43.3 | is that we're just supposed to believe you |
| 0:44.8 | without any pushback or questioning |
| 0:46.3 | or cross-examination? |
| 0:47.4 | I think that's dangerous, she said. |
| 0:49.0 | That's what she said in interview. |
| 0:50.2 | I think she's fulfilled that in court. |
| 0:52.3 | She's definitely put a lot of questioning and pushback and |
| 0:54.9 | cross-examination. The jury will decide whether it was effective. |
| 0:58.2 | So she grew up in Chicago and she's been through the whole system, you know, she was in Cook County State's Attorney's Office in 1997 and three years later became an assistant state attorney in Illinois working on domestic violence cases and felony claims. |
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