Why has Harvey Weinstein been extradited to Los Angeles?

Harvey Weinstein has been extradited to Los Angeles, where he will face nearly a dozen additional sexual assault charges. 

The disgraced Hollywood director is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence in New York after being convicted of rape and a criminal sex act in February 2020. 

He will now stand trial in LA, where he is expected to contest charges that he allegedly attacked five women in Southern California between 2004 and 2013.  

"This morning at approximately 9.25 custody of Mr. Harvey Weinstein was handed over to the appropriate officials for transport to the state of California per a court order," the New York Department of Corrections said in a statement on 20 July.

Weinstein, 69, is being charged with 11 felony counts of sexual assault in California—including forcible rape and forcible oral copulation. If he is convicted, he could be sentenced to 140 years in prison. 

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According to his defense attorney, Mark Werksman, Weinstein was transported by plane to California on Tuesday and is scheduled to appear in a downtown LA courtroom on Wednesday. California state law states that his trial must begin within 120 days of his extradition, giving prosecutors four months to commence court proceedings. 

Weinstein's legal team strongly campaigned against their client's extradition, citing his declining health and planned eye surgeries. 

"We will be fighting so that Harvey can receive his needed medical care and of course, so that he can be treated fairly,” his spokesperson Juda Engelmayer said on Tuesday. “Due process, presumption of innocence, and a fair trial are all still his right.” 

Weinstein has denied the allegations. 

The former Hollywood mogul was first accused of sexual misconduct in 2017 after 80 women came forward to share their experiences of Weinstein with the media. Perhaps one of the most high-profile victims was actor Rose McGowan, who alleged that Weinstein raped her at a hotel in 1997. The onslaught of accusations gave rise to the #MeToo movement, which saw countless survivors of sexual harassment and assault speak out about their abuse. 

Weinstein was arrested in May 2018 and convicted in 2020. In January 2021, a court approved the payout of $17 million to Harvey Weinstein's victims after his media company was forced into liquidation.