Harvey Weinstein hires Luigi Mangione’s and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ lawyers as his 3rd NY trial looms

NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein has hired Luigi Mangione’s and Sean “Diddy” Combs’ lawyers to represent him at his third New York rape trial, reshaping his legal team after declining to end the case with a guilty plea.

The lawyers, Jacob Kaplan, Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos, confirmed the move in court papers Tuesday. They take over for Weinstein’s longtime lawyer, Arthur Aidala, who ceded his courtroom role to focus on the ex-studio boss' appeals and pending civil matters.

Kaplan was a member of Weinstein’s original defense team in 2018 and is expected to have a leading role in his defense at the third trial, which involves a charge that the Oscar-winning producer raped hairstylist and actor Jessica Mann in a Manhattan hotel in 2013.

At a hearing in January, Weinstein insisted he “never assaulted anyone" and said his “spirit was breaking” after nearly six years behind bars.

The trial, postponed from a March 3 start, hasn't been rescheduled. Weinstein is due in court March 4 for a status conference. Legal publication Law360 first reported the legal team shake up.

Kaplan and Agnifilo are representing Mangione in his parallel state and federal cases in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. They succeed in getting terrorism charges thrown out in the state case and the death penalty barred in the federal case.

Agnifilo and Geragos represented Combs, achieving a split verdict and acquittals on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, and currently are among the lawyers defending wealthy brothers Alon, Oren and Tal Alexander at their sex trafficking trial in Manhattan federal court.

Kaplan, Agnifilo and Geragos are all partners at the Manhattan firm Agnifilo Intrater.

“Harvey believes that, after two prior trials on this matter, a recalibrated outlook and strategic approach offers the most effective path forward,” Weinstein spokesperson Juda Engelmayer said.

In a messy split verdict last June, Weinstein was convicted of forcing oral sex on one woman, Miriam Haley, acquitted of forcibly performing oral sex on another woman, Kaja Sokola, and the jury didn't decide on the rape charge involving Mann. Deliberations ended when the foreperson refused to participate further.

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Haley, Sokola and Mann have done.

Weinstein and his lawyers argued that the retrial verdict was tainted by infighting and bullying among jurors. Judge Curtis Farber, who will also oversee the third trial, rejected that, telling Weinstein at the January hearing: “You had a fair trial.”

At his first trial, in 2020, Weinstein was convicted of raping Mann and forcing oral sex on Haley, but New York’s highest court overturned those convictions and ordered last year’s retrial. The Court of Appeals ruled that Weinstein was prejudiced by testimony about allegations that weren’t part of the case.

Weinstein and Aidala, who argued the appeal and represented Weinstein at his original trial and retrial, appeared to come to a mutual and amicable agreement about the lawyer’s shifting role.

“Our work does not end here,” Aidala said. "We will continue to advocate forcefully on his behalf in the appellate courts, where we are confident that serious legal errors will be addressed and his most significant conviction will ultimately be overturned.”

Kaplan, Agnifilo and Geragos are in the midst of several high-profile cases, including Mangione’s state trial slated to begin June 8, which could affect the timing of Weinstein’s trial. Even without accusers other than Mann, prosecutors have said it could take up to five weeks.

Weinstein faces up to 25 years in prison for the charge he was convicted on: first-degree criminal sex act involving Haley. The unresolved third-degree rape charge involving Mann is punishable by up to four years — less than he already has served.

The Oscar-winning producer has been behind bars since his initial conviction in 2020, and was sentenced to prison in a separate California case that he is appealing.

FILE - Harvey Weinstein appears in court in New York, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool, File)

FILE - Jacob Kaplan, center, an attorney for Keith Raniere leaves Federal Court, April 20, 2018, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

FILE - Sean "Diddy" Combs lawyer Teny Geragos arrives to the Manhattan federal court for the sentencing of Combs in New York, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, File)

FILE - Marc Agnifilo, defense attorney for Sean "Diddy" Combs, arrives at court on July 1, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

FILE - Attorney Marc Agnifilo, left, and Teny Geragos, right, for Sean "Diddy Combs, arrive at Manhattan federal court, Oct. 10, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

DENVER (AP) — A Frontier Airlines plane hit and killed a pedestrian on the runway of the Denver International Airport during takeoff, airport authorities said, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate.

The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday," the airport's official X account wrote.

A spokesperson for the airport said the pedestrian, who jumped a perimeter fence, has died. They said the unidentified person was hit two minutes after entering the airport. The person is not believed to be an airport employee.

“We're stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”

The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that an “individual was walking across the runway.”

The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now" before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”

Frontier Airlines said in a statement flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.” It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the crash with the pedestrian.

“The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members,” the airline said. “We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities.”

Passengers were then evacuated via slides and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal. The airport spokesperson said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to local hospitals.

Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, will remain closed while an investigation is conducted. It is expected to open later today.

The pedestrian death came a day after a Delta Air Lines employee was killed while on the job at the Orlando International Airport. In a statement, the airline said the employee was killed Thursday night without providing details of the incident nor the name of the employee.

“We are focused on extending our full support to family and taking care of our Orlando team during this difficult time,” the airline said. "We are working with local authorities as a full investigation gets underway to determine what occurred.”

FILE - A Frontier Airlines jetliner taxis down a runway for take off from Denver International airport on Nov. 25, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)