US President Donald Trump has reacted to former Hollywood heavyweight Harvey Weinstein being found guilty of rape and sexual assault.
Trump, who is currently in India, told reporters that he had "never liked" the mogul, who on Tuesday (NZ time) was found guilty in New York of committing a first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape. Weinstein was acquitted of two counts of predatory sexual assault and first-degree rape.
"I was never a fan of Harvey Weinstein, as you know. In fact, he said he was going to work hard to defeat me in the election," Trump said, referring to Weinstein's connections to former Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
"He was a person I didn't like, never liked. I don't know too much about the case because, you know, between travelling and being at meetings almost every hour of the day, every minute of the day, I haven't really been able to see too much of it."
Trump said he knew Weinstein as the movie mogul was regularly in New York, where Trump resided before becoming President. He then turned things political by asking if Democrats would be giving away any money that Weinstein may have donated to the party.
That's something that is understood to have already happened. Following allegations emerging in 2017 about Weinstein, many Democrats donated money to charities that advocate for the victims of domestic violence.
Clinton has previously said: "if all of us had known what we know now, it would have affected our behaviour".
Trump himself has been accused of sexual misconduct, including by writer E Jean Carroll - allegations he denies.
Weinstein faces up to 25 years in prison for the sexual assault conviction and up to four years for the third-degree rape conviction. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 11.
After being convicted, he was hospitalised due to chest pains. It's understood he remains in hospital but will eventually be moved to Rikers Island jail.
