No Dream Team For Harvey

A third high-powered defense attorney, Jose Baez, has expressed a desire to leave Harvey Weinstein’s defense team. Baez was hired after Weinstein’s first attorney, Benjamin Brafman, quit over a disagreement about how to handle his client’s simultaneous PR and legal crises. Ronald Sullivan was pressured into quitting because of the uproar his representation caused at Harvard, where he teaches. Baez had come on to replace Brafman before Sullivan left.  Sullivan had written most of the team’s briefs. A representative for Weinstein issued a statement indicating that Sullivan’s departure prompted Baez to back off.  “When one of the team members left the case due to the personal pressures that were placed on him, it removed a critical component to the team and legal strategy, which was not yet being filled. Mr. Weinstein will shortly be welcoming a team that will fulfill each of the essential components needed to properly serve his due process and his rigorous defense.” The spokesman didn’t discuss who might be interested in defending Weinstein who stands accused of various acts of misconduct from harassment to assault by more than 80 women in the U.S. and London. He faces trial in New York this September in connection with attacks on two women.