New York Times fires lawyer who hired spies for Weinstein
FILE – In this Jan. 8, 2017, file photo, Harvey Weinstein arrives at The Weinstein Company and Netflix Golden Globes afterparty in Beverly Hills, Calif. The New York Times says it’s inexcusable that lawyer David Boies’ firm tried to halt the newspaper’s investigation into sexual harassment charges against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein while it was also working on other matters for the Times. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Times on Tuesday fired lawyer David Boies’ firm after learning it tried to halt the newspaper’s investigation into sexual harassment charges against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein while also representing the newspaper on other matters.
Boies has disputed the Times’ view that his work for Weinstein represented a conflict of interest. Still, he no longer works for Weinstein and said the task he completed for him was a mistake.
It represents the fallout from a New Yorker magazine article that reported Weinstein hired investigators to trail women who had accused him of mistreatment, including Rose McGowan and Rosanna Arquette.
Journalists pursuing the story, including Jodi Kantor of the Times and Ronan Farrow, author of Tuesday’s New Yorker piece, also were investigated.
It was not immediately clear how much business the Times did with the law firm Boies Schiller and Flexner.
“I would never knowingly silence women”
Boies, best known for representing Al Gore in the 2000 disputed election against George W. Bush, is the second prominent attorney to take heat for representing the man accused of being one of Hollywood’s biggest sexual predators.
Lisa Bloom, a prominent women’s rights lawyer, quit representing Weinstein when the extent of the accusations against him became known.
The article said Boies’ firm hired and paid one organization with a background in Israeli intelligence agencies at the same time it was representing the Times in a libel case.
Boies said Weinstein had told him that the Times was considering publishing a story alleging that the mogul had raped an actress.
He said he would not defend him against these charges, and told him the only way the story could be stopped was to prove it was untrue.
The New Yorker said some of the investigators misrepresented themselves in contact with their subjects, compiled personal and sexual histories on some, and left some of the targets feeling intimidated.
Boies said he would never have drawn up the contract had he known what it would be used for.
“I would never knowingly participate in an effort to intimidate or silence women or anyone else,” he said.
Secret spying operation ‘reprehensible’
Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha said the newspaper never contemplated the firm would contract with an intelligence firm to conduct a secret spying operation aimed at their reporting and reporters.
“Such an operation is reprehensible, and the Boies firm must have known that its existence would have been material to our decision whether to continue using the firm,” she said.
“Whatever legalistic arguments and justifications can be made, we should have been treated better by a firm that we trusted.”
A spokeswoman for Weinstein did not immediately return a message seeking comment. He has characterized his contact with actresses as consensual. NVG
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