Harvey Weinstein 'More Concerned' About His Family Than Himself Ahead of Arrest: Source
Harvey Weinstein is prepared to let the law take its course, a source tells PEOPLE.
“Harvey will abide by standard legal protocol and in the meantime, he is staying true to his self-improvement recovery journey and relying on friends and family and his inner strength,” says the source.
“He still has his sense of humor and is more concerned about everyone else before himself, especially his family,” the source maintains.
Investigators in Manhattan are preparing to place the mogul under arrest tomorrow following a lengthy investigation into allegations that he sexually assaulted multiple women, a source confirmed on Thursday.
Weinstein, 66, is reportedly facing charges in connection with Lucia Evans, who told investigators that the producer forced her to perform oral sex on him in 2004, and possibly additional charges relating to other accusers, according to the New York Daily News.
Sources also told the outlet that a grand jury was convened weeks ago to hear the evidence against Weinstein.
The producer’s attorney Benjamin Brafman did not immediately respond to a request for comment at the time.
After news of Weinstein’s possible arrest broke, the New Yorker published an interview with Evans who confirmed she was pressing charges against the Weinstein.
“At a certain point, you have to think about the greater good of humanity, of womankind,” she told Ronan Farrow about her decision to cooperate with police.
“They said that if I do nothing, Harvey would walk,” Evans added. “I think the significance hit all at once.”
Weinstein has been accused of sexual misconduct by over 60 women since The New York Times and The New Yorker documented decades of alleged sexual misconduct and sexual assault involving a number of women in detailed, Pulitzer-prize winning articles in October.
A spokesperson for the Oscar winner previously told PEOPLE in a statement that “any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein. Mr. Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances.”
The sexual misconduct allegations against Weinstein have also gotten the attention of the federal government.
The U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York has begun a criminal probe investigating in part whether he enticed or persuaded any women to cross state lines with the intent of committing a sex crime, which is potentially a federal offense, according to The Wall Street Journal, which was first to report the news.
Brafman confirmed to PEOPLE that he has met with federal prosecutors in the SDNY “in an attempt to dissuade them from proceeding” and will continue to meet with them moving forward.
“Mr. Weinstein has always maintained that he has never engaged in nonconsensual sexual acts,” Brafman added.
