By MICHAEL HILL (Associated Press)

Prosecutors in New York accused Harvey Weinstein’s lead defense lawyer of making public statements intended to intimidate a potential witness ahead of the fallen movie mogul’s retrial and asked a judge to take action.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office sent a letter to the trial judge Thursday criticizing comments made by lawyer Arthur Aidala outside of court on May 1, urging the judge to instruct the defense team “not to make public statements discussing or disparaging potential witnesses in the future.”

New York’s highest court last month threw out Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, ruling that the trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against him based on allegations that weren’t part of the case. In that landmark #MeToo trial, Weinstein was convicted of rape in the third degree for an attack on an aspiring actress in 2013 and of forcing himself on a TV and film production assistant, Miriam Haley, in 2006.

Weinstein, 72, has maintained his innocence.

Speaking to reporters about the case after Weinstein’s first court appearance following the decision, Aidala said he believes Haley lied to the jury about her motive in coming forward, which prosecutors refute. He said his team planned an aggressive cross-examination on the issue “if she dares to come and show her face here.”

Haley, who did not attend the court hearing, had said days earlier she was weighing whether to testify again at a retrial.

Aidala declined to comment Friday.

Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg, in the letter to Justice Curtis Farber, said the defense attorney violated state rules of professional conduct and “knowingly disregarded his professional and ethical obligations.”

“The obvious intent of his statements was to intimidate Ms. Haley and chill her cooperation with the retrial of this case,” Blumberg wrote.

Blumberg asked Farber to remind the defense counsel of their ethical obligations regarding out-of-court statements and direct them to stop making public statements about witnesses “that could materially prejudice the case.”

Weinstein’s next court date is Wednesday. At the May 1 hearing, prosecutors asked for a retrial as soon as September. Farber said the trial would take place some time after Labor Day.

Weinstein, who had been serving a 23-year sentence for the Manhattan conviction, was moved from a state prison to city custody after the ruling last month by the state Court of Appeals. He also was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape and is still sentenced to 16 years in prison in California.

Haley said last month at a news conference with her attorney, Gloria Allred, that she did not want to go the trauma of testifying again, “but for the sake of keeping going and doing the right thing and because it is what happened, I would consider it.”

Allred declined comment Friday.

The Associated Press does not generally identify people alleging sexual assault unless they consent to be named, as Haley has.

——

Associated Press writer Michael R. Sisak contributed reporting

In typical Harrison Smith fashion, the 12-year veteran safety for the Vikings maintained a rather cryptic tone this past winter while standing inside the visitors locker room at Ford Field in Detroit.

His sweat had barely dried and he was still coming to grips with the fact that the Vikings had missed the playoffs after a 30-20 loss to the Lions in Week 18. He wasn’t interested in talking about his plans for the future, especially when it came to the possibility of retirement.

The only clarity Smith provided was when he emphasized the following: If he indeed decided to retire, there wasn’t going to be formal announcement of any sort. He would simply fade the background. He wasn’t going to bring too much attention to himself.

After taking a couple of months to think about it, Smith ultimately agreed to restructure his contract, ensuring that he would remain with the Vikings moving forward. The time away was important for Smith. He got to spend a lot of quality time with his wife, Madison, and their children, Eleanor and Pierce, and even personally helped with the remodeling of his home in Knoxville, Tenn.

“I was completely living life like I wasn’t a football player,” Smith said. “It’s a good weight off my mind to kind of reset and come back around to it.”

Now that Smith, 35, is back in the mix, he’s confident he can still be an impactful player.

“I still feel good,” he said. “I still feel like I can play at a high level.”

It helps that Smith developed a close relationship with defensive coordinator Brian Flores while getting to work with him on a daily basis. Though he’s more than a decade into his career, Smith went out of his way to note how much he has learned from Flores. They seem to speak the same language when they’re out there together.

“It’s been awesome,” Smith said. “I learned a lot of things last year that I was never really introduced to throughout my career.”

As much as Smith has connected with Flores on the field, he has also connected with him off the field.

“There’s a lot to be learned from him beyond football,” Smith said. “As I’ve gotten a few more years under my belt, I’ve grown to appreciate those things. Just how to carry myself as a man and as a husband and as a father. Those things carry over to football.”

There seemed to be a genuine excitement from Smith this week as he returned to the Twin Cities for organized team activities. He looked reinvigorated and ready to attack whatever gets thrown at him. Even questions about the possibility of this year being his farewell tour.

“I don’t know,” Smith said. “I just kind of take it day by day thinking about what I’m doing on the field and how I can get better at that. That kind of simplifies it and it really lets me enjoy the moment more than like saying, ‘Oh, this is my last one.’ That’s not really my style.”

It never has been. It never will be.

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Ask anybody who played for the Timberwolves during the 2004 playoff run. They will all say the exact same thing.

Given how physically and mentally imposing superstar power forward Kevin Garnett was at the peak of his game, how accepting every player was of his specific role, how connected that team was on and off the court, the Timberwolves would have won the NBA championship if starting point guard Sam Cassell never got hurt.

“He missed most of the Western Conference Finals and we still ended up competing with Lakers,” said Fred Hoiberg, the backup shooting guard in 2004, who proved himself as a marksman from long range.  “That pretty much says it all.”

“We were playing against Shaq and Kobe without him and we still pushed them,” said Gary Trent, the backup power forward in 2004, who provided a sense of security on the court. “The impact of losing him was too much to overcome.”

“I always think about what could’ve been if we were healthy,” said Wally Szczerbiak, the backup small forward in 2004, who made an impact as a microwave off the bench. “Just wish we could’ve seen it play out with us at full strength.”

Now the group that helped the Timberwolves captivate the fan base during the 2004 playoff run is living vicariously through the 2024 playoff run. There is unfinished business in Minnesota as far as they’re concerned, and while it took 20 years for the Timberwolves to get another shot at it, they are finally back in the Western Conference Finals with everything in front of them.

“They’ve got a perfect team,” said Trenton Hassell, the starting shooting guard in 2004, who was known for his defense on he perimeter. “They don’t really have any weaknesses, and everybody seems to know their role. That was a lot like us and what made our team successful. It was us against the world every time we stepped on the court.”

There are certainly some similarities when looking at the constitution of the two best versions of the Timberwolves.

While the 2004 playoff run had Garnett leading his teammates into battle on a nightly basis, the 2024 playoff run has Anthony Edwards serving as the heartbeat of the team.

While the 2004 playoff run had Cassell and starting small forward Latrell Sprewell both stepping up in the clutch, the 2024 playoff run has Karl-Anthony Towns consistently taking his game to the next level.

While the 2004 playoff run had reserves like Szczerbiak and others filling in the cracks, the 2024 playoff run has a much deeper cast of contributors that includes Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels and Mike Conley rounding out the starting lineup, with Naz Reid chipping in off the bench.

Maybe the most striking resemblance, however, is the intangible vibes of both versions of the Timberwolves.

The players genuinely seemed to enjoy playing with each other during the 2004 playoff run.

The players genuinely seem to enjoy playing with each other during the 2024 playoff run.

“You need that,” said Ervin Johnson, the starting center in 2004, who took pride in the dirty work down low. “You can’t win without it.”

Though the Timberwolves didn’t punctuate things 20 years ago with an NBA championship, they still gave Minnesota a month and a half it will never forget.

“It was insane,” said Mark Madsen, a backup power forward in 2004, who became a folk hero because of his energy off the bench.

“We couldn’t go anywhere without people coming up to us. There are some teams that belong to whatever city they are in. You look at the Timberwolves and they belong to the state.”

The fan base has spent 20 years patiently waiting for another team to capture their collective consciousnesses. The road has been filled with ups and downs and twists and turns along the way. All leading to this moment where everybody is behind the Timberwolves once again.

“Those are some good people in Minnesota,” Hassell said. “They deserve a title. They’ve been through a lot over the last 20 years. I’m glad this is happening for them.”

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