Washington, Oct 12 (AP) The multiplying tentacles of theHarvey Weinstein sex abuse scandal have touched a formerpresident, a former presidential candidate and now a formerpresidential adviser.
Steve Bannon, the former Trump White House chiefstrategist and current head of Breitbart News, is the latestpolitico touched by the scandal.
Bannon, whose website has hammered Democrats foraccepting Weinstein's political donations, himself profitedfrom a relationship with the movie mogul, in an ill-fatedjoint venture more than a decade ago.
Bannon served as chairman of a small company thatdistributed DVDs and home videos, and went into business in2005 with The Weinstein Co., led by Harvey Weinstein and hisbrother Bob.
The Weinsteins became 70 per cent owners of the nowdefunct venture, Genius Products.
The connection highlights the breadth of a scandal thathas tainted an array of leading Democrats, including HillaryClinton and Barack Obama, who were friendly with Weinstein andaccepted his campaign donations.
Clinton and Obama have both issued statements denouncingWeinstein's actions in the wake of The New York Times'reporting about his serial sexual assaults on women. Otherleading Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader ChuckSchumer of New York and Sen.
Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, have announced plansto donate his campaign contributions to charities.
Bannon was not immediately available to comment,according to a spokeswoman.
The ties to Weinstein open Bannon up to charges ofhypocrisy given Breitbart's intense focus on the scandal andits political fallout. In recent days the site has featured ablog with live updates on the story; headlines calling outObama, Clinton and top Democrats for their ties to theproducer; and stories attacking other news outlets for failingto cover the scandal with the same ferocity as Breitbart.
The connection between Bannon and Weinstein began morethan a decade ago when Bannon, who had been a Goldman Sachsbanker, was dabbling in Hollywood investments. Transcripts ofinvestor conference calls at the time show Bannon enthusingabout the business opportunities with the Weinsteins.
"We are extremely honored to be in business with the newWeinstein Company," Bannon told investors in one such call,declaring that "the Weinsteins have the most impressive trackrecord in the film industry" and that "Bob and Harvey are twoof the most prolific studio heads in the history ofHollywood."(AP)AMS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.