On Tuesday, Harvey Weinstein’s defense team surprised the court by presenting a personal diary from a decade ago that belonged to Kaja Sokora, one of his accusers.
Lawyer Michael Sibera informed the prosecutors and Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Curtis Farber that the diary included notes where Sokora discussed individuals who had abused her. The handwritten notes were brought up just before the judge was called in for Weinstein’s ongoing sexual misconduct trial.
The diary contains detailed entries about “rape” and “forced sex.” However, it includes only one mention of Weinstein, stating, “I promised to help her career and nothing came.”
Sokora, who accused Weinstein of assaulting her when she was 16, appeared visibly distressed when the diary was introduced during her testimony.
She described the diary as a private recovery journal regarding her struggles with alcoholism, which she believed was kept in Poland, expressing confusion over how the defense obtained it.
“This is very inappropriate,” said Sokora, a 39-year-old psychotherapist, while wearing a tongue-in-cheek dress and a blue blazer, squeezing a neon pink stress ball.
“As a psychologist, I would never do this to my patients, and I won’t allow it for myself.”
Prosecutors noted they had never seen the diary before, which contained a “list of gratitude” primarily written in Polish, and pointed out it dated back to 2015, well before the current allegations.
Despite her objections, Judge Farber ruled that while some privacy concerns would be acknowledged, limited questions about the journal’s structure and timing could proceed.
“There are people’s names… this is privacy,” Sokora’s family voiced to the judge.
The diary’s introduction came during a challenging cross-examination where Weinstein’s defense sought to undermine Sokora’s credibility and the timing of her allegations. Sokora was asked to read from the diary, which included a “Status Trauma” section listing 42 names, including at least two individuals who had assaulted her.
“It shows that I haven’t spoken about this in many years,” she told the judge while crying from the witness stand. “There’s someone in there whose name I haven’t mentioned. This feels like thin ice. I have to say it’s definitely unethical. I’m not on trial here.”
She pointed out that Weinstein was mentioned in her journal, attributed to her sister suggesting him as someone who had been unfairly treated. In one entry, she noted “Harvey W,” ranked number 16, stating she “promised my help,” but “nothing came.”
Sokora is the first to testify publicly against Weinstein, who faces multiple sexual offense charges and could receive up to 25 years if convicted. Weinstein, who has pleaded not guilty, was previously found guilty in 2022, but that conviction was overturned last year.
Unlike other victims, Sokora did not testify during her earlier trial, but last week the judge stated Weinstein had attacked her three times. She is expected to return to the stand Wednesday to continue her testimony.
