Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa B. Lench forbid the defense from discussing the underlying issue behind the email — the revelation of an affair Gov. Gavin Newsom had had in 2005 with an aide.
The judge suggested the attorney was overstating the case by saying Weinstein’s due process was at stake.Weinstein is charged with raping Siebel Newsom at a Beverly Hills hotel in 2004 or 2005.
The judge also ruled that the prosecution could play for jurors a secret recording that another forthcoming witness in the trial, Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, made of Weinstein in conjunction with New York police in 2015. In the recording, Weinstein apologized for his conduct in a previous meeting, where she said he had touched her thigh and grabbed her breasts.
Deputy District Attorney Paul Thompson said he could play just a short excerpt from the recording, but after a discussion with the defense, the two sides agreed he should play all 43 minutes of it.