Harvey Weinstein wants his email back to 'exonerate himself': Court documents
Weinstein said the company has an interest in his “narrowly tailored request.”
Harvey Weinstein asked a federal bankruptcy court Friday to force The Weinstein Company to give him access to his email accounts and personal files.
Without them, Weinstein said in court documents obtained by ABC News, he cannot “exonerate himself.”
Weinstein made “multiple requests” for these emails and for his personal files but TWC either refused or imposed “incredulous conditions,” according to court documents.
“[TWC’s] continued refusal to permit Mr. Weinstein to access these emails has significantly impinged his ability to effectively defend himself,” his attorney Scott Cousins wrote.
Weinstein conceded in court documents he is under criminal investigation in New York, Los Angeles and London, and is the subject of pending and threatened civil litigation, all involving allegations of rampant sexual misconduct first detailed publicly by The New York Times and The New Yorker.
“By denying him access to potentially exculpatory emails, [TWC is] depriving Mr. Weinstein of his due process rights and preventing him from properly defending against these allegations,” Cousins wrote.
The Weinstein Company filed for bankruptcy after an attempt to sell the company to a group of investors that wanted to reconstitute it as a female-led studio failed.
Weinstein said the company has an interest in his “narrowly tailored request” since any successful civil lawsuit could devalue the remaining assets. If TWC does not grant access and Weinstein cannot use his emails to help refute factual allegations, Weinstein said it would be “to the detriment” of the estate and creditors.
Since last year, Weinstein, 65, has been accused by dozens of women of sexual misconduct, with several alleging sexual assault. Weinstein has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex. He is currently facing criminal investigations in several jurisdictions, as well as multiple lawsuits.