Weinstein Lawyer Questions Jennifer Siebel Newsom in Sex Crimes Trial

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LOS ANGELES — Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker and the wife of the California governor, Gavin Newsom, reiterated on Tuesday that Harvey Weinstein had sexually assaulted her in 2005, as she faced intense questioning from Mr. Weinstein’s defense lawyer in a packed Los Angeles courtroom.

Ms. Siebel Newsom described what happened after she went to a Beverly Hills hotel intending to discuss her film career with Mr. Weinstein, the former Hollywood mogul, and was directed to his private suite.

Mark Werksman, Mr. Weinstein’s defense lawyer, grilled Ms. Siebel Newsom on the nature of her relationship with Mr. Weinstein and the details of the alleged assault, comparing her past accounts with her testimony this week. On Monday, Ms. Siebel Newsom, 48, became the fourth California accuser to testify in the Los Angeles sex crimes trial of Mr. Weinstein, who was convicted in New York in 2020 on rape and criminal sexual assault charges.

In several instances, Mr. Werksman asked why Ms. Siebel Newsom continued to communicate with Mr. Weinstein after the hotel visit and questioned the lack of precise details in past interviews with the police.

Ms. Siebel Newsom said that she had put “everything in a box” in 2005 and that some details had been difficult to unearth because they were painful.

“Putting it in a box was a way of putting away my sadness, my fear, my trauma so I could move forward with my life,” she said.

Ms. Siebel Newsom on Monday said she had first met Mr. Weinstein at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2005, describing him as a “kingmaker” in the film industry that she was trying to break into as an actress and producer, and, through tears, gave a graphic account of the assault that she said had followed some weeks later at a Beverly Hills hotel.

She said that Mr. Weinstein had dragged or carried her from the couch to the bed, where he grabbed at her breasts, forcibly removed her underwear and then penetrated her with his fingers and penis. She said Mr. Weinstein had also forced oral sex on her.

Prosecutors have argued that Mr. Weinstein made a habit of feigning interest in the careers of young actresses like Ms. Siebel Newsom, inviting them to meet in private and sexually assaulting them.

Mr. Weinstein’s defense team has maintained his innocence regarding all of the charges. His lawyers have said that women had consensual sex with Mr. Weinstein in order to advance their film careers.

“You thought that you could advance professionally by having a relationship with Mr. Weinstein,” Mr. Werksman said. Ms. Siebel Newsom did not immediately answer, but took a deep breath and then said of Mr. Werksman, “Your energy is just so intense, you’re just adding things.”

Later, Mr. Werksman questioned her about her account in 2020 to the authorities. At one point, when she was slow to respond, the defense lawyer said, “Are you too tired to testify?”

Ms. Siebel Newsom teared up, and Mr. Werksman said, “Are you able to answer my questions?”

“What you’re doing today is exactly what he did to me,” she said. Several sexual assault survivors who had come to the courthouse in support, nodded.

Ms. Siebel Newsom said that when she first told the police about the assault in 2020, she didn’t anticipate having to testify in a courtroom, because she believed her account would fall outside of the statute of limitations.

“I offered to talk to detectives initially to support other women, not to be up here on the witness stand,” she said. “I honestly was just telling my truth and I didn’t know what the outcome was going to be.”

Mr. Weinstein faces seven charges in Los Angeles, including two counts of rape and five counts of sexual assault, which were reduced on Tuesday from the 11 originally filed against him. The alleged acts, involving four women, are said to have taken place between 2004 and 2013 in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. The women have been referred to in court documents only as “Jane Does,” but Ms. Siebel Newsom has been identified by her lawyer as one of them.

Prosecutors said for the first time Tuesday that they did not intend to proceed with the testimony of the fifth woman. Lisa B. Lench, the Los Angeles County Superior Court judge presiding over the case, dropped the two counts of forcible rape and two counts of forcible oral copulation related to the woman’s testimony.

Mr. Werksman’s relentless questioning was met with halting explanations by Ms. Siebel Newsom, and direction from Judge Lench to answer only with a simple “yes” or “no.” Several jury members attentively took notes.

Mr. Werksman painted a picture of Ms. Siebel Newsom as a savvy working actor who dated A-listers, and not someone naïve enough to be taken advantage of by Mr. Weinstein. He attempted to undermine her credibility by suggesting there were inconsistencies in her story, and that she had a hard time pinning down the difference between reality and her nightmares.

“Have you had a difficult time discerning between what’s a nightmare and what happened in the bedroom at the Peninsula Hotel?” Mr. Werksman said. Ms. Siebel Newsom responded promptly: “No, no.”

At multiple times during questioning, Mr. Werksman has mentioned Mr. Newsom by his full name and noted that she is the wife of the California governor. Judge Lench last month directed lawyers to avoid discussion of Mr. Newsom’s politics and to remain focused on the events at issue in the trial. Mr. Newsom waited elsewhere in the courthouse; an aide said he would not comment on his wife’s testimony.

Adam Nagourney contributed reporting.