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Weinstein hired ex-Mossad agents to silence accusers, report says

Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein contracted a shadowy network of private investigators to undercut the scores of women who have accused him of sexual harassment and assault, according to The New Yorker.

Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein contracted a shadowy network of private investigators to undercut scores of women who’ve accused him of sexual harassment and assault, according to The New Yorker.

Weinstein reportedly hired private firms like Kroll, one the biggest corporate-intelligence companies, and Black Cube, an outfit comprised of veterans from Israeli spy agencies like Mossad, to attempt to cover his tracks and even dig into media outlets reporting on the allegations.

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According to The New Yorker, the contractors engaged in some questionable behavior:

  • A Black Cube agent reportedly posed as a women’s rights advocate and secretly recorded at least four conversations with actress Rose McGowan, who accused Weinstein of rape and remains a vocal critic.
  • Black Cube also allegedly hired an investigative journalist who clandestinely recorded phone conversations with McGowan and at least two other women who’ve said Weinstein sexually harassed them. The journalist also called reporters from The New Yorker and New York Magazine to suss out their sources before their stories were published.
  • Kroll allegedly wiped the personal electronic devices of an Italian actress who settled with Weinstein over sexual assault allegations in 2015. Police had captured a recording of Weinstein admitting he’d groped the actress as part of a sting operation.
  • Kroll also allegedly assembled a list of flattering photos that featured McGowan and Weinstein together following her allegations.
  • PSOPS, a third firm, reportedly compiled a detailed list of sources that journalists at The New Yorker and the New York Times were speaking with for stories about Weinstein.

Weinstein’s spokesperson, Sallie Hofmeister, said the allegations that he tried to suppress people are “a fiction.”

READ: Quentin Tarantino admits he kept Harvey Weinstein’s secret