Manhattan’s District Attorney has dropped one of six criminal charges against Harvey Weinstein after new evidence emerged challenging the account of one of his three accusers. 
 
 During a court hearing in Manhattan Criminal Court on Thursday, Judge James Burke granted the defense request to dismiss the count related to allegations by Lucia Evans. The aspiring actor first told her story to the New Yorker last October, saying Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex during a daytime meeting at his Tribeca office in 2004. 
 
 According to a letter made public after Thursday’s hearing, Evans is alleged to have offered conflicting accounts about her encounter with Weinstein. The lead detective on the case, identified by Weinstein’s attorney as Nicholas DiGaudio, is also accused of failing to inform prosecutors of a witness account that cast doubt on Evans’ claims. 
 
 According to the letter, the witness told police that Evans had told her that she had voluntarily performed oral sex on Weinstein. The witness also said she was present at a Manhattan bar when Weinstein first encountered Evans. She said that Weinstein offered to pay both women if they would expose their breasts. The witness said she refused, but that Evans later told her she had exposed her breasts to Weinstein in a hallway of the restaurant. Evans disputed the witness’s account in an interview with prosecutors, denying that she was ever asked to expose her breasts to Weinstein. She also could not recall relating the story about what happened in Weinstein’s office to the witness. 
 
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 Prosecutors also recently obtained a draft email written by Evans to her fiance in 2015. According to the letter, the email contained a version of the encounter that is at odds with the version she had told law enforcement. 
 
 Prosecutors did not challenge the defense motion to dismiss the Evans count. Prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon emphasized that the loss of Evans did not alter the fundamentals of the case and the prosecution’s contention that Weinstein is guilty of “predatory sexual assault” involving multiple victims. 
 
 “We are moving full-steam ahead,” Illuzi-Orbon told the judge. She said the investigation into Weinstein’s actions continues as the D.A.’s office works to determine if additional charges can be brought against Weinstein. 
 
 An attorney for Evans, Carrie Goldberg, issued a statement Thursday blasting D.A. Cyrus Vance for agreeing to drop the charge. 
 
 “The prosecutor’s decision to abandon my client, Lucia Evans, does not invalidate the truth of her claims,” Goldberg said. “It does speak to a system that needs to be reformed.” 
 
 Goldberg said that Evans’ account of the event has been consistent, and said the case had been mishandled due to a “feud” between the D.A.’s office and the NYPD. 
 
 “Instead of rising to the challenges of their mistakes, the DA jumped ship at the first opportunity,” she said. “Vance has done this before, when powerful men have been accused of sex crimes, including Weinstein himself; throwing cooperative crime victims under the bus. It raises serious questions of bias.” 
 
 Defense attorney Ben Brafman blasted DiGaudio’s conduct, and argued it could be grounds for a total dismissal. According to the letter, the witness told prosecutors that DiGaudio had discouraged her from sharing her account, saying “less is more” and advising her that she had no obligation to cooperate. DiGaudio denied making those statements, but acknowledged that he had failed to share the witness’s account with the D.A.’s office. In a statement, Brafman accused DiGaudio of “serious misconduct in keeping his knowledge of Ms. Evans’ lies to himself.” 
 
 He also raised the allegation of Evans having committed perjury in her testimony to the grand jury that led to Weinstein’s indictment in May. He also slammed the New Yorker for using Evans as a key source in its coverage of the tidal wave of sexual assault allegations against the former film titan. 
 
 “It appears to me some of the most vocal, outspoken critics of Mr. Weinstein who have put their complaints into the media were never properly vetted,” Brafman said. 
 
 The witness was first interviewed by a New Yorker fact checker last year, but she did not contradict Evans’ account to the magazine. Instead, she said only that “something inappropriate happened,” according to the letter. 
 
 The New Yorker defended its reporting in a statement issued after the hearing. “We stand by our reporting and fact-checking process, which was assiduous and thorough. Any assertion by lawyers for Harvey Weinstein that The New Yorker had information that contradicted Lucia Evans’s account is patently incorrect,” a spokeswoman for the magazine said. 
 
 Brafman also took aim at the five other remaining counts against Weinstein, as alleged by former production assistant Mimi Haleyi and an unnamed woman accusing Weinstein of rape in 2013. Weinstein has steadfastly maintained that the sexual encounters were consensual. 
 
 “We will be able to demonstrate he did not commit any of the other crimes,” Brafman said. 
 
 The judge set the next hearing in the case for Dec. 20. Defense attorneys have until Nov. 2 to file additional motions to dismiss. 
 
 Weinstein was stone-faced as he walked haltingly into the courtroom for the hearing. Dressed in a dark suit, the former showman known for his larger than life personality did not turn his eyes to the packed rows of reporters in attendance to cover the proceedings. 
 
 As he left the courtroom, Weinstein whispered to his attorney and did glance at the crowd that included the New York Times’ Jodi Kantor, who co-wrote the first damning report in October 2017 about Weinstein’s alleged history of sexual assaults, and famed writer Ken Auletta. Both journalists are working on books about Weinstein’s stunning downfall. 
 
 DA letter re: Weinstein Count 6 by gmaddaus on Scribd ||||| Harvey Weinstein enters State Supreme Court, Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018 in New York. Judge James Burke is expected to issue rulings Thursday on defense motions seeking to dismiss some or all of a six-count... (Associated Press) 
 
 Harvey Weinstein enters State Supreme Court, Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018 in New York. Judge James Burke is expected to issue rulings Thursday on defense motions seeking to dismiss some or all of a six-count indictment accusing Weinstein of rape and sexual assault. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) (Associated Press) 
 
 NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on Harvey Weinstein's appearance before a New York judge as his lawyers try to get charges dismissed in his criminal case. (all times local): 
 
 11:20 a.m. 
 
 One of the charges against Harvey Weinstein was dropped after evidence emerged that a police detective had urged a witness to keep quiet about inconsistencies in the accuser's accounts. 
 
 Details emerged on Thursday after the court unsealed a letter that Manhattan prosecutors wrote to Weinstein's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, in September. 
 
 There was no immediate response from the New York Police Department. 
 
 A judge agreed on Thursday to dismiss allegations by Lucia Evans, one of three accusers in the case. 
 
 The letter also said prosecutors had recently obtained an email that Evans wrote in 2015 to the man she later married. They say that account differs from the one she provided to investigators. 
 
 It says the accuser told prosecutors that the inconsistencies may have been caused by a flawed memory. 
 
 ___ 
 
 10:40 a.m. 
 
 Harvey Weinstein's attorney says an accuser should be criminally prosecuted for perjury following the decision to drop part of the case against him. 
 
 A judge agreed on Thursday to dismiss allegations by Lucia Evans, one of three accusers in the case. 
 
 Weinstein's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, told the judge he believes Evans lied both to the grand jury and to The New Yorker about her encounter with Weinstein. 
 
 Brafman said outside court that "this is not about victim shaming." 
 
 Evans' attorney says the decision does not "invalidate the truth of her claims." 
 
 Attorney Carrie Goldberg says prosecutors' decision to "abandon" her client speaks to a system that needs to be reformed. 
 
 ___ 
 
 10:05 a.m. 
 
 An attorney for the Harvey Weinstein accuser whose case has been dropped says it does not "invalidate the truth of her claims." 
 
 Attorney Carrie Goldberg says in a statement that the prosecution's decision to "abandon" her client, Lucia Evans, speaks to a system that needs to be reformed. 
 
 Manhattan's district attorney dropped part of the criminal case against Weinstein on Thursday. 
 
 In a story published a year ago Wednesday, Evans told The New Yorker that Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex during a meeting at his office in 2004. 
 
 Remaining charges include allegations Weinstein raped a woman in 2013 and forced a sex act on a different woman in 2006. 
 
 Weinstein says he is innocent. 
 
 His lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said in court that he believes Evans lied to the grand jury about what happened. 
 
 ___ 
 
 9:50 a.m. 
 
 Manhattan's district attorney has dropped part of the criminal case against Harvey Weinstein. 
 
 The development was announced in court on Thursday with Weinstein looking on. 
 
 A judge agreed to dismiss allegations by one of three accusers in the case, Lucia Evans. 
 
 In a story published a year ago Wednesday, Evans told The New Yorker that Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex during a meeting at his office in 2004. 
 
 Remaining charges include allegations Weinstein raped a woman in 2013 and forced a sex act on a different woman in 2006. 
 
 Weinstein says he is innocent. 
 
 His lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said in court that he believes Evans lied to the grand jury about what happened. 
 
 ____ 
 
 9:40 a.m. 
 
 Harvey Weinstein has arrived at a New York courthouse where his lawyers are trying to get the charges dismissed in his criminal case. 
 
 Judge James Burke is expected to issue rulings Thursday on defense motions assailing an indictment accusing Weinstein of rape and sexual assault. 
 
 The hearing comes a year and a day after The New Yorker first published allegations by one accuser in the case, Lucia Evans. 
 
 She says Weinstein forced her into oral sex in 2004. 
 
 Weinstein's lawyers and prosecutors had been wrangling over the part of the indictment pertaining to Evans in recent weeks in closed-door meetings and sealed court papers. 
 
 Weinstein is also charged with raping a woman in 2013 and forcing an unwanted sex act on a woman in 2006. 
 
 He denies assaulting anyone. 
 
 ___ 
 
 5:30 a.m. 
 
 Harvey Weinstein is set to appear before a New York judge as his lawyers try to get the charges dismissed in his criminal case. 
 
 Judge James Burke is expected to issue rulings Thursday on defense motions assailing an indictment accusing Weinstein of rape and sexual assault. 
 
 The hearing comes a year and a day after The New Yorker first published allegations by one accuser in the case, Lucia Evans. 
 
 She says Weinstein forced her into oral sex in 2004. 
 
 Weinstein's lawyers and prosecutors had been wrangling over the part of the indictment pertaining to Evans in recent weeks in closed-door meetings and sealed court papers. 
 
 Weinstein is also charged with raping a woman in 2013 and forcing an unwanted sex act on a woman in 2006. 
 
 He denies assaulting anyone.
– Harvey Weinstein still faces charges of sexual assault, but he now faces one fewer of them. A judge in Manhattan on Thursday dismissed the allegations brought against the former Hollywood mogul by one of three women, reports Variety. An actress named Lucia Evans had accused Weinstein of forcing her to perform oral sex, but defense lawyers said she offered conflicting accounts and accused prosecutors of failing to disclose a witness capable of casting doubt on the claims. The upshot is that Judge James Burke agreed to dismiss one of six criminal charges against Weinstein. "We are moving full-steam ahead," prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon told the judge after the development. Weinstein attorney Benjamin Brafman told reporters that Evans should be prosecuted for perjury, accusing her of lying to authorities and to the New Yorker, which first brought her allegations to light. "This is not about victim shaming," said Brafman, per the AP. Evans' attorney, meanwhile, said the judge's decision does not "invalidate the truth of her claims."