‘Army of spies’: Weinstein hired ex-Mossad agents to silence abuse allegations – report
An “army of spies” tried to silence actresses and reporters making allegations against Harvey Weinstein, a report claims. Security firm Black Cube, run by former Mossad operatives, is reported to be involved.
The New Yorker magazine revealed that the former Miramax producer hired Black Cube as well as Kroll, one of the world’s largest corporate intelligence firms. Their brief was to find out compromising details about the personal lives and sexual histories of the dozens of women and journalists who were in a position to expose him.
According to the investigation, Black Cube, which describes itself as “a select group of veterans from the Israeli elite intelligence,” repeatedly fished for information on actress Rose McGowan, who publicly accused Weinstein of rape.
A female Black Cube operative who went by the alias “Diana Filip” posed as the deputy head for private investment at London wealth management firm Reuben Capital Partner. In this guise she approached McGowan several times, apparently seeking to establish a friendship. During their meetings, “Filip” recorded conversations with the actress.
Ben Wallace, a New York-based reporter who was covering sex abuse allegations against Weinstein, said that the same woman met with him twice last autumn. She identified herself only as Anna and claimed she also had an allegation against Weinstein. Wallace recounted that the woman spoke with a German accent and had a UK mobile phone number.
It turned out that “Diana Filip” and “Anna” were creations of a former Israeli Defense Force officer employed by Black Cube, according to three informed sources. When shown photos of the Black Cube operative, McGowan recalled her vividly. “Oh my God,” she replied. “Reuben Capital. Diana Filip. No f***ing way.”
Security agencies hired by Weinstein also dug up information on dozens of people, including personal and sexual histories. Notably, a report compiled on McGowan by a separate private security firm included the sub-heading “Past lovers.”
In other instances, the information-gathering effort was spearheaded by Weinstein’s lawyers. One of them was David Boies, a renowned attorney who represented Al Gore during the presidential election dispute back in 2000; he also argued for marriage equality before the US Supreme Court.
READ MORE: Weinstein scandal: What it tells us about celebs, politics & Hollywood
In October 2016, Boies’s law firm, Boies Schiller Flexner, transferred a $600,000 invoice under a contract signed between the two entities earlier that month. One, dated July 11, 2017, and signed by Boies, states that the effort’s “primary objectives” were to “provide intelligence which will help the Client’s efforts to completely stop the publication of a new negative article in a leading NY newspaper.”
The agents also had to “obtain additional content of a book which is currently being written and includes harmful negative information on and about the Client.” The story in question was published in the New York Times on October 5th, which suggested Weinstein has paid off harassment accusers for decades. The book mentioned in the contract was a memoir by McGowan entitled ‘Brave’, scheduled for publication by HarperCollins in January.
