Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who was speaking on Monday, acknowledged that Harvey Weinstein asked her for a political donation to support the now-California Governor. Gavin Newsom – but said her husband gave the money back after the #MeToo movement took hold.
Newsom had to endure a long day of testimony. She publicly disclosed details of the assault that she claimed occurred in 2004 or 2005 when she was still an actress and hadn’t met her husband. She became very emotional when she was asked by prosecutors to reveal that Weinstein had called her to meet at the Peninsula and raped the woman.
Marlene Martinez, the Deputy District Attorney for Newsom, asked whether Newsom had requested such a request after the assault.
“I believe I did once,” Newsom said. “And I believe my husband gave the money back later.”
“Why did you ask him?” asked Martinez.
“He was affiliated with the Democratic party and had given major donations to Democrats,” Newsom replied. “At the time, my husband was running for office and I wanted to be helpful to my husband.”
Mark Werksman, Weinstein defense lawyer, took over exactly where Martinez had left off. Newsom clarified early on that it was Gavin Newsom’s people who asked Weinstein for donations at her suggestion.
“And you had told [your husband] that Harvey Weinstein had sexually assaulted you?”
She replied that she didn’t.
“When did you tell Gavin Newsom about this allegation of sexual assault?”
“I told him that Harvey was sketchy at different times,”She responded, “and he picked up on it himself when he met him.”
Werksman established that Newsom wasn’t entirely sure who she first told that Weinstein had assaulted her, but that it might have been her husband. But she said he didn’t yet know about the assault at the time they were asking Weinstein for a political donation, and couldn’t remember whether that was during his mayoral or gubernatorial campaign.
“My husband raises hundreds of millions of dollars for campaigns,”She spoke.
Werksman then asked if Newsom returned Weinstein’s donations after the #MeToo movement. She agreed.
“Right away,”She spoke. “He’s very ethical.”
Werksman once again asked the question about Newsom’s alleged assault to her husband.
“Sir, I dropped hints along the way,”She spoke. “He knew something was off when we were at the SAG Awards and the way Harvey looked at me.”
She stated that it was October 2017.
“It was his 50th birthday, and I was having an emotional meltdown” – a statement that raised a prosecution objection which the judge sustained, instructing Newsom to just answer the questions directly.
“He didn’t know it was bad money until the whole world knew about the #MeToo movement in October 2017?” Werksman asked.
Another objection is also supported.
But Newsom took money, Werksman said, “from somebody you hinted had done something despicable to you.”
“It’s complex,”She replied.
Newsom was expected to be back at the stand Tuesday morning.
