Thursday, January 30, 2020

Harvey Weinstein's alleged use of intelligence agency Black Cube to spy on accusers surfaces in rape trial

In Harvey Weinstein's ongoing rape trial in New York, the issue of the producer's hiring of Black Cube has attracted a lot of attention, states Deadline.

The intelligence agency, brought in by the filmmaker, functions mainly by the efforts of former officers of Mossad and other Israeli intelligence agencies.

Black Cube was functioning for Weinstein through his law firm, Boies Schiller. As per reports, agents working in the firm took up false identities to gather information about Weinstein's accusers, including the likes of Rose McGowan and Annabella Sciorra.

Harvey Weinstein. The Associated Press

The trial is supposed to bring in Jessica Mann to the witness stand on Friday. Mann, a hairdresser and a former actress, is one of the two main accusers in the trial. Other witnesses on the stand on Thursday include Monika Mikkelsen, a casting director whose works feature the 2006 Weinstein Co film Pulse. 

Two women who say they met Weinstein when they were aspiring actresses in their 20s testified at his rape trial Wednesday that the one-time Hollywood titan preyed on their dreams of stardom to sexually assault them.

Dawn Dunning told jurors Weinstein put his hand up her skirt and fondled her genitals, during what was supposed to be a 2004 meeting about her fledgling career, and later tried trading movie roles for three-way sex with him and his assistant.

She said Weinstein claimed the lewd offer was the kind of thing that happened all the time in the film business, and he mentioned the names of several big stars in hopes of convincing her to do it.

Tarale Wulff testified Weinstein raped her at his New York City apartment after luring her there in 2005 with promises of an audition for a film role.

Wulff choked back tears as she described the much larger Weinstein grabbing her by the arm, pushing her onto a bed, and spurning her pleas to stop with reassurances that she should not worry because he had had a vasectomy.

Dunning told jurors she met Weinstein while waiting tables at a different Manhattan nightspot, one where bottle service was a trendy indulgence for the rich and famous. He invited her to a lunch meeting where, noting his infamous temper, she said he was “on the phone a lot yelling at people.”

Several meetings followed, Dunning said, including one at a hotel where Weinstein was using a suite as a temporary office. At one point, she testified Weinstein led her into a bedroom, and put his hand up her skirt.



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