May 25, 2018

"Behind the Scenes of Harvey Weinstein’s Arrest."

By Ronan Farrow at The New Yorker.
After a seven-month investigation, the producer Harvey Weinstein turned himself in to the New York Police Department's First Precinct on Friday morning to face sexual-assault charges. According to law-enforcement officials, the charges against Weinstein are based on the allegations of two women. One is Lucia Evans, a marketing consultant and former aspiring actress who told The New Yorker last October that Weinstein sexually assaulted her in his Manhattan office, in 2004. The day after the publication of that story, police detectives began trying to meet with Evans about filing a formal criminal complaint. One of the police sources called Evans “a highly credible witness with corroborating evidence.” In an interview on Thursday, Evans confirmed that she was pressing charges against Weinstein. “At a certain point, you have to think about the greater good of humanity, of womankind,” she told me....

The day after the New Yorker story was published online, two detectives drove to upstate New York to visit Evans’s parents at their home.... The officers had told her that they might not be able to bring charges without her coöperation. “They said that if I do nothing, Harvey would walk,” Evans said. “I think the significance hit all at once.” Evans said that she initially felt “proud to be a part of this movement, just knowing I could do this for everybody.”...

After months of what Evans described as sleepless nights, she decided to proceed with the complaint against Weinstein. “We gave her time,” a source involved in the investigation said. “We worked with her gradually to make sure she was comfortable. Even when she came in and told us the story in the D.A.’s office of what had happened, we still weren’t, like, ‘Boom, it’s going forward.’ ”

66 comments:

tim in vermont said...

Harvey must feel so betrayed, after all he did for Bill and Hillary, they couldn’t get a simple story spiked and spiked good!

rhhardin said...

After months of what Evans described as sleepless nights, she decided to proceed with the complaint against Weinstein. “We gave her time,” a source involved in the investigation said. “We worked with her gradually to make sure she was comfortable. Even when she came in and told us the story in the D.A.’s office of what had happened, we still weren’t, like, ‘Boom, it’s going forward.’ ”

Women are such feeling wimps. How do they survive without all of society attuned to their various needs and desires, as husbands used to do one on one rather than all on one.

Husbands are able to sustain an interest. Society is not, unless it's made into soap opera.

CJ said...

What the heck is he being charged with? These women knew the deal - bang the producer and get a role. Or don't bang Harv and get blacklisted.

Is that illegal?

Sebastian said...

What's with the ö?

mezzrow said...

O tempora! O mores!

JackWayne said...

She mentions The Greater Good. Is she a Harry Potter fangirl?

MayBee said...

Sebastian said...
What's with the ö?


hahahahaha! My question exactly!

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Weinstein deserves all the crap that could possibly befall him.

I am a bit surprised that the statute of limitations has not run out on a 2004 crime. Statutes of limitations exist for good reason. If you were accused of a sexual assault that supposedly happened 14 years ago, and were completely innocent, how good of a defense could you put up?

Not that I think Weinstein is innocent. Just a basic concern over due process.

Wince said...

Sebastian said...
What's with the ö?

ö

The oral sex emoticon?

Mike Sylwester said...

If Weinstein didn't have to deal with these complaints, he would be doing a lot of work to advocate common-sense gun controls.

Ralph L said...

The umlaut is a British usage, I think, like the AE smashup.

Fourteen years is a damn long time to screw your courage to your sticky place.
Smack him or go directly to the police without passing GO. Better yet, don't be alone with a guy you don't want to play with.

Quayle said...

Soap Opera

Like the sands of moral foundations, these are the days of our lives.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

“At a certain point, you have to think about the greater good of humanity, of womankind,”

2004 rape.
2018 - Yeah - she'll say something now.

so brave./

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

*Mega democrat donor* never mentioned by democrat hack press.

tim in vermont said...

These women knew the deal - bang the producer and get a role. Or don’t bang Harv and get blacklisted.

The woman who played Louise in the Harry and Louise ads said Hillary wanted her to make an ad renouncing the original ads, kine of like the “Can you hear me now?” guy. She said that Hillary told her that if she went along, it could greatly help her career, and if she didn’t it would hurt her career. She said, “as a Democrat, I was shocked, that’s the kind of things that Republicans did!” Of course she has since gone all in for Hillarycare, because that’s what Hillary wants, not a blow job.I wish I could find that documentary, I saw it when I was in the UK, I don’t think it aired in the US.

PJ said...

Without the umlaut, it could mean that she wouldn't agree to testify until the police put her in a barrel.

Quayle said...

2004 - He is still very powerful
2018 - He is not so powerful

But my comment is not intended to criticize the woman, rather our society and its morality police, judges, and juries in the media and popular culture, whose utter disinterest in Harvey's wrongdoing the woman accurately assessed.

narciso said...

New York magazine is often a party to fraud as in October 2016, when they covered this with a pillow.

Niw,there are indications that Epstein might be an undercover informant.

CJinPA said...

So is it "The" New Yorker or "the" New Yorker? It appears both ways in that New Yorker article.

Bay Area Guy said...

The NY DA is gonna need a stellar horticulturist expert to deal handle the potted plant testimony.

narciso said...

No, he was the potted plant, recall when he first was hired a team of fmr company men dug up a file on dsks accuser and the case went away.

Ann Althouse said...

"So is it "The" New Yorker or "the" New Yorker? It appears both ways in that New Yorker article."

The 2 forms are correct. There are 2 different situations. It depends on what "the" is doing.

1. "One is Lucia Evans, a marketing consultant and former aspiring actress who told The New Yorker last October that Weinstein sexually assaulted her in his Manhattan office, in 2004. " There, "The" is part of the title of the publication. Note the italics.

2. "The day after the New Yorker story was published online, two detectives drove to upstate New York to visit Evans’s parents at their home." There, "the" goes with "story" — it's "the story in The New Yorker," "the New Yorker story." The title of the publication drops its "The" because we don't say "the The New Yorker story." The dropped "the" is from the title of the publication. We need the "the" for "story" and it should not be capitalized.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Wweinstein seems like a contemptible person and if guilty should pay for his crimes.
Bringing criminal charges so long after the crime occurred seems "problematic" (as the kids say) to me, though, especially in cases where whether a crime occurred or not can hinge on conflicting personal narratives/stories/beliefs about what happened.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Is there a bigger pile of corrupt shit than Hillary Clinton? NO.

tim in vermont said...

BLUE WAVE: Poll: Menendez lead narrows to just 4 points over GOP foe Hugin. Amazing for New Jersey, but then again, the whole underage-Dominican-hooker thing probably doesn’t sit well in the #MeToo era.. - Instapundit

One thing I can’t abide is calling an under age girl a “hooker,” she is enslaved as a sex worker, if you have to use a term.

Ralph L said...

Does the new New Yorker story reference the old New Yorker story?

tim in vermont said...

No need to worry about NJ flipping R, if it looks bad enough for Menendez, they will just hold a snap “Judicial Primary” and substitute a new candidate!

narciso said...

No of course not, why harsh the narrative,

DKWalser said...

I think the defense is going to have a lot to work with in the story of what it took to 'convince her' to speak up for womenkind. Is she on the witness stand to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, or is she there as part of the #metoo movement (which brings with it the possibility she may have been swept up in the moment and has embellished her story in an attempt to enhance Weinstein's guilt)?

h said...

Can a lawyer commenter explain why statute of limitations does not apply?

Darrell said...

New York State--

Rape; Criminal sexual act;
Aggravated sexual abuse;
Course of sexual conduct
against a child

SOL: None

Ignorance is Bliss said...

The title of the publication drops its "The" because we don't say "the The New Yorker story." The dropped "the" is from the title of the publication. We need the "the" for "story" and it should not be capitalized.

Taking this one step further, if we are talking about the new story in The New Yorker, is it "the new The New Yorker story", "the new New Yorker story", or "the new Yorker story"?

And, since we've already come this far, what if there was a new story in The New Yorker about yorkers*. Would we be required to drop the name of the magazine entirely?

*Cricket: A ball bowled so that it pitches immediately under the bat.

Darrell said...

California is 10 years.
Might be why they looked for a rape committed in New York.

Ralph L said...

Shouldn't there be more recent crimes? L&O SVU and Criminal Minds both say predators don't often stop.

Ralph L said...

Didn't NY drop their SOL fairly recently? It's been a factor in older NY sex crime dramas.

Big Mike said...

Drudge has a picture of Weinstein being perp-walked between a large policeman and a plump, buxom policewoman. If it wasn’t for the guy, would he have tried to grope her?

Darkisland said...

Too bad Tom Wolfe could not have lived another week or two to see this.

In Bonfire of the Vanities, protagonist Sherman McCoy's lawyers make a deal for him to turn himself in via the DA's office in exchange for avoiding a public perp walk.

The police instead cuffed him, notified the press, and perp walked him into a precinct station. (Something like that, it's been a few years since I read the book)

Weinstein's lawyers, according to a news story linked at Hot Air tried to negotiate a deal where Weinstein would turn himself into the DA privately. NYPD objected and perp walked him, in handcuffs. Lots of press and cameras on hand. Who tipped them off?

Is this a case of life imitating art?

I am not necessarily objecting. My only objection would be if they had promised not to perp walk him then did it anyway. As in the book.

John Henry

Darkisland said...

Criminality aside, I think the fascination with Weinstein is the same as in Bonfire too.

We all like to see some toplofty bigshot brought down.

Bread and circuses.

Neither of my two comments is intended to minimize what Weinstein is alleged to have done. If he did it, the book should be thrown at him.

John Henry

dbp said...

Most felonies in New York state have a 5 year statute of limitations. My understanding is the 5-year span is from the time of the crime until charges are filed. How is Weinstein being charged for 14 year old crimes?

Big Mike said...

I agree with the people upthread who are concerned about statute of limitations. If some former female subordinate accused me of sexual harassment fifteen years ago, how could I defend myself? Althouse often comes across as a member of the “believe the woman!” crowd, but here in the real world there are women who lie reflexively, even when they don’t have to.

Ralph L said...

Do any NY prisons have potted plants?

FIDO said...

IIRC, the statute of limitations doesn't start until the crime is 'known'.

So if Aunt Frieda seals her jewels in a safe and you steal them the next day, and 8 years later, the safe is found empty but you left prints all over like a dumbass, then you are still liable.

D.B. Cooper, however, may be safe.

But here, the crime IS known! She knew it. She could have reported it. SHE DIDN'T.

So I hope he gets off. If women can't be bothered to seek justice in 14 years, they gave up their opportunity. That is the price of Agency and Equality: you need to actually ACT, not be found 14 years later by a prosecutor wanting to make a name.


Also, the cost of #MeToo is 'show me the evidence'. The days of benefit of the doubt to womyn are SO over. Strict Rule of Law


Darrell said...

New York State--

Rape; Criminal sexual act;
Aggravated sexual abuse;
Course of sexual conduct
against a child

SOL: None

Meaning there is no statute of limitation on rape.

Howard said...

Why cucks concerned more with protecting rapists?

Darrell said...

Usually, the SOL in place at the time of the crime matters. Perhaps someone can comment on that.

tim in vermont said...

You tell me Howard, why did the Democrats run a Clinton?

tim in vermont said...

Why is Menendez D NJ still in the Senate, Howard?

tim in vermont said...

Howard, why has the press buried the open secret of the friendship between this guy and the Clintons.

Oh, and Howard is mystified that anyone could think that due process should apply, even to a political opponent. It's foreign to the thinking of Democrats. Power is to be used to get more power!

MadisonMan said...

Harvey must feel so betrayed, after all he did for Bill and Hillary, they couldn’t get a simple story spiked and spiked good!

All that investment in Hillary!! wasted.

@Darrell, thanks for clarifying that SOL meant Statute of Limitations. My mind went to the other common acronym.

h said...

Thanks Darrell for the SOL explanation.

madAsHell said...

They sent a woman to arrest Harvey.

Ralph L said...

All that investment in Hillary!! wasted.

Not just his. Yet not a peep out of McCain or Feingold about the Yuge disincentive to bribe, or at least, bribe one side. They thought they had a sure thing.

William said...

In a case this old, I'd be inclined to give Harvey the benefit of the doubt. However, when this woman's testimony is buttressed by the tesImony of several hundred other women with similar stories, the woman's credibility increases.......I don't think anyone in Hollywood realizes how bad this story makes them look. Harvey perved on hundreds of women. Most of those women were not in the torturable class. They had means and independence. Some of them had their own lawyers and publicists. How did it come to pass that Harvey was able to flourish and thrive and prosper? Hollywood is one fucked up place.

rcocean said...

Sad that the Wein-pig might go to jail.

Yeah, I'm broken up.

Maybe he can take on the NRA - from his prison cell.

LOL - just joking. 100-1 he's never convicted.

He'll find some Judge who doesn't like to convict Hollywood liberals and they'll find some reason to let him free - or he'll skip bail like Polanski and be a Hollywood hero in 5 years.

rcocean said...

No Statue of limitations for rape?

Seems odd.

FIDO said...

The two words which leapt out at me were 'two' and 'credible'.

Like others here, I believe there were hundreds of 'victims'.

But finding 'credible' ones...how many can they find?

Two.

Because the prosecutor interviews probably went something like this:

DA: Were you sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein?

Starlett: YES! (Tells story)

DA: So...you went to his hotel...alone...you were dressed provocatively...you entered the elevator...you walked down the hall...knowing that he expected a 'working meeting', your words...you knocked on the door...and

Starlett: You make it sound like I had a choice or control of my own actions.

DA: Well...yes. One more question: have you ever slept with anyone else for a job or a part?

Starlett: Erm...

DA: NEXT!

FIDO said...

Granted, considering the state the DA's office is going through with Eric 'One Punch' Schneiderman, and considering that the DA already scotched one sting against Weinstein, and no, I don't think Weinstein is getting any DA love in NY.

Note CALIFORNIA where most of his shenanigans occurred, hasn't found a single victim...

Ish Kabbible said...

Because of NY's SOL, good 'ol Harv is SOL.

FIDO said...

That is a possibility. NY might be the venue of choice simply due to the statute of limitations.

Christy said...

Didn't she report the assault to the NYPD at the time, but nothing came of it? Harvey stonewalled with lawyers. No longer invulnerable, Harvey was ripe for charging. I can understand why, after all this time she was reluctant to revisit the nastiness.

Does the statute apply when the crime was reported immediately but took years to gather evidence?

The Godfather said...

In German, the umlaut over the O reflects the way it's pronounced, which is kind of like saying "O" with your lips pursed -- in an English-language text in the typewriter era you might see it written as OE.

I don't know if the the double dot over the O in "cooperation" is called an umlaut or not, but it serves a different purpose: It tells you that the two O's are pronounced separately, co-operation (as I think it is commonly presented today), not "coop" (e.g., "chicken coop") -eration.

narciso said...

I mentioned this early:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/after-investigating-victim-ambra-battilana-manhattan-da-cy-vance-finally-charges-harvey-Weinstein

narciso said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bad Lieutenant said...

Diacritics is The New Yorker's šhťïçk.


5/25/18, 10:29 AM
tim in vermont said...
Howard, why has the press buried the open secret of the friendship between this guy and the Clintons.

Oh, and Howard is mystified that anyone could think that due process should apply, even to a political opponent. It's foreign to the thinking of Democrats. Power is to be used to get more power!

5/25/18, 10:33 AM

Don't be too sure...Howard, like Earnie Prole, is a trifle schizo. Their small minds have no hobgoblins.

gpm said...

>>I don't know if the the double dot over the O in "cooperation" is called an umlaut or not,

It's called a diaeresis.

--gpm

Howard said...

Ronan Allen was a guest on Fresh Aire with Terry Gross this weak. No way his dad was olde blue eyes. He made Woody sound macho