At the request of the Time’s Up Anti-Harassment Movement, the New York State Attorney on Monday agreed to investigate why Harvey Weinstein was not charged, almost six months after the first revelations of abuse. of the producer.
“We have extensive knowledge of Harvey Weinstein’s years of deviant sexual behavior and have recently sued him for abusing his employees in the Weinstein Company,” said the attorney, Eric Schneiderman, in a tweet.
“We are determined to conduct a full and fair and independent investigation into this case,” he added.
The prosecutor responded favorably to an inquiry by the Time’s Up movement, released Monday morning, asking the governor of the state of New York to investigate the decisions of the Manhattan prosecutor, and the reasons why Harvey Weinstein has not been charged yet.
In a statement, Time’s Up said it had asked Governor Andrew Cuomo “an independent inquiry into the decision-making process in this case,” including a “full review” of the exchanges between Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers and the Attorney General’s office. Manhattan, Cyrus Vance, to ensure the “integrity” of the local prosecutor and “restore confidence” in his office.
The move pointed to the case of the Italian model Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, which did not lead to any prosecutions of the Manhattan prosecutor in 2015, while the police, in possession of a compromising recording, thought to have a solid record.
Time’s Up also quoted a recent New York Magazine article that found that New York police inspectors even helped “hide” Battilana at night, reserving hotel rooms under aliases, fearing that the prosecutor does not seek to derail the investigation.
This information deserves “immediate review,” insisted Time’s Up.
The movement also found “particularly disturbing” information in some New York media that prosecutor Vance, a recently re-elected Democrat, could be influenced by Mr. Weinstein and his lawyers.
These suspicions are due to the fact that the Weinstein team of lawyers, led by the famous Benjamin Brafman, includes ex-collaborators or relatives of Vance.
The prosecutor’s office refuted these suspicions, assuring in particular that the investigation was still “very active”.
Several civil claims have been filed against Harvey Weinstein in New York and Los Angeles. Criminal investigations are underway in New York, Los Angeles and London, but none has resulted in a charge.
The deposed producer, 66 years old on Monday, has not been seen in public for months, and would undergo treatment for sexual addiction in a clinic in Arizona.
More than 100 women have accused him of sexual abuse ranging from harassment to rape.