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A new report in the New York Times details the many ways that Harvey Weinstein’s “complicity machine” allowed him to command “enablers, silencers and spies” to keep his secrets about allegedly mistreating women and to court influential people in media and politics to burnish his image and help him stay in power. Those influential people include Hillary and Bill Clinton, as well as David J. Pecker, the chief executive at American Media Inc., which owns The National Enquirer. Pecker is also good friends with President Donald Trump, and both Weinstein and Trump were known in the tabloid industry as untouchable...

A journalist claims that the Rev. Jesse Jackson and director John Singleton made inappropriate comments and advances toward her while she was doing her job. Danielle Young, writing for The Root, says that while she was working for a media company, Jackson delivered the keynote speech at the end of a meeting. After discussing the responsibilities of black journalists in his speech, according to Young, she and her colleagues lined up to have their picture taken with Jackson. “I walked toward Jackson, smiling, and he smiled back at me,” Young wrote. “His eyes scanned my entire body. All of a...

Currently facing multiple allegations of sexual harassment, veteran Congressman Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., will not run for re-election in 2018, according to a family member who now plans to run for his seat. Interested in Sexual Harassment Ian Conyers, 29, the grandson of Rep. Conyers’ brother, confirmed the news by phone with ABC News early Tuesday. Ian Conyers, a Michigan state senator, said his uncle plans to make a formal announcement at 10 a.m. on the Mildred Gaddis radio show. The New York Times was first to report the story. “He is not resigning. He is going to retire,” Ian...

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) wouldn’t say Monday whether his colleagues Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) and Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) should resign over multiple sexual assault allegations that include, in Franken’s case, photographic evidence. While Ellison didn't want to call for resignations, he was willing to say that his colleagues should "examine their consciences." "Well, you know, Amy, you know, here's the thing,” Ellison told Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman when she directly asked if he thought Franken and Conyers should resign. “I would ask every member of Congress, including those, to look inside their conscience and ask themselves just a few...

The top Democrat in the House is calling on a Nevada congressman to resign amid an allegation of sexual misconduct. In a statement early Saturday morning, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says she spoke to Rep. Ruben Kihuen Friday night. She says the allegation against him from a former aide was convincing and in light of the accusation, “Congressman Kihuen should resign.” BuzzFeed News had reported that Kihuen is alleged to have repeatedly made sexual advances toward an aide during his 2016 congressional campaign.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton commented Thursday night on longtime NBC host Matt Lauer's firing, remarking that she believes in the concept of karma a little more "every day," Philly Voice reports. Clinton was speaking in Philadelphia as part of her national book tour promoting her memoir, "What Happened," which looks at her unsuccessful 2016 presidential campaign. “Every day I believe more in karma,” Clinton said when asked about Lauer's firing, before lumping him in with several other “men who shaped the narrative” who have been fired over similar allegations of sexual misconduct. “The only way we will get...

Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Google+ Lawyers representing former NBC host Matt Lauer are reportedly seeking to get the longtime anchor upwards of $30 million after he was fired this week over allegations of sexual misconduct. Page Six reports that Lauer's team is seeking for NBC to pay the host for the remainder of his $20 million per year contract, which still had a year and a half left before he was fired.

RUSH: Geraldo Rivera wanted to get in on the action here on the Matt Lauer story. Greetings, my friends, welcome back, Rush Limbaugh and the EIB Network. Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies. Telephone number, 800-282-2882. So when the news broke that Matt Lauer had been fired for the reasons that he was fired, Geraldo tweeted or somehow said in the public domain that this sounded a bit extreme to him because the news business is “flirty.” He said the sexual harassment issue “is so red hot right now there is no room for any thought or opinion but hang...

Democratic Senate President Stan Rosenberg said Thursday he was taking seriously a report that his husband sexually assaulted and harassed several men, including some with business before the Legislature. The Boston Globe reported it spoke with four men who said Bryon Hefner sexually assaulted and harassed them over the past few years. Three of the men told the Globe that Hefner grabbed their genitals and one said Hefner kissed him against his will. The Globe said it found no evidence Rosenberg knew about the alleged assaults. Hefner said in a statement to the Globe through his lawyer that he was...

Inspired by the revelations about Harvey Weinstein, Louis C.K. and others, a total of nine women have come forward publicly for the first time to describe a pattern of sexual abuse and violations of trust by a man they considered a mentor and friend. Mr. Horovitz is an award-winning author of more than 70 plays, including “The Indian Wants the Bronx” (starring Al Pacino in 1968); “Park Your Car in Harvard Yard” (on Broadway in 1991); and “Out of the Mouths of Babes,” which ran Off Broadway last year. Over his five-decade career, Mr. Horovitz has been an influential player...

We didn’t go there, did we? I mean seriously? Did Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), the third ranking member of the House Democratic Caucus, pretty much insinuate that the accusations against Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) shouldn’t be believed because the accusers are white? Conyers is under fire for sexual misconduct. In 2015, he settled a sexual harassment claim to the tune of $27,000 in taxpayer money. Melanie Sloan, a Washington lawyer, claimed to be the subject of verbal abuse by Conyers, even walking into his office to have the Michigan Democrat half-dressed. She has not alleged any sexual harassment, but Deanna...

Americans were rightfully outraged when they learned that members of Congress had used taxpayer dollars to pay settlement claims to alleged victims of sexual harassment.They were even more outraged when they saw the numbers. The secret payouts for harassment claims, of which there have been more than 200, amounted to more than $17 million. There's no telling so far how much of that money went to silence sexual assault accusers.Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is seeking to release the names of lawmakers who used this "hush fund." She's a co-sponsor of the Congressional Accountability and Hush Fund Elimination Act, which would...

A day after being fired by NBC, former “Today” host Matt Lauer on Thursday broke his silence on the mounting sexual misconduct allegations against him — saying some of the accusations are “untrue” but that he is “truly sorry” for the pain he has inflicted. “There are no words to express my sorrow and regret for the pain I have caused others by words and actions,” he said in a statement. “To the people I have hurt, I am truly sorry. “As I am writing this I realize the depth of the damage and disappointment I have left behind at...

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday called for Rep. John Conyers Jr., the longest-serving member, to resign amid multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. “I pray for Congressman Conyers and his family,” Pelosi said. “However, Congressman Conyers should resign.”

Russell Simmons is stepping down from his companies in the wake of an accusation of harassment and sexual assault. Simmons, the founder of hip-hop music label Def Jam Recordings and CEO of Rush Communications, released a statement on Thursday after screenwriter Jenny Lumet accused him of forcing her to have sex with him in 1991. She detailed the encounter in a guest column published by The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday. "I have been informed with great anguish of Jenny Lumet's recollection about our night together in 1991," Simmons said in a statement. "I know Jenny and her family and have...

Rep. Joe Barton, whose private life came under national scrutiny after sexual images he shared in an extramarital relationship were made public, won’t seek re-election. The Ennis Republican announced his retirement in an interview with The Dallas Morning News on Thursday, three weeks after saying he would seek an 18th term. "I’ve always listened to people in Texas and worked for them in Washington, and I’ve been listening to a lot of people the last week in Texas," he said. "...There are enough people who lost faith in me that it’s time to step aside and let there be a...

An Army veteran is accusing Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) of inappropriately touching her during a USO tour in 2003 while she was deployed in Kuwait.Stephanie Kemplin told CNN that Franken cupped her breast while she was taking a photo with him.She told the network she met Franken when he was visiting troops on a USO tour and wanted to take a photo with him."When he put his arm around me, he groped my right breast. He kept his hand all the way over on my breast," Kemplin said.   ADVERTISEMENT "I've never had a man put their arm around me and then...

The screenwriter of 'Rachel Getting Married' and 'The Mummy' (and the daughter of filmmaker Sidney Lumet) details a terrifying encounter with the legendary music producer, who says he is stepping down from his businesses in the wake of the new claims. Russell Simmons, a prolific music and TV producer and co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, was accused of sexual assault and harassment by model Keri Claussen Khalighi in a Nov. 19 article in the Los Angeles Times. Simmons then denied the incident in a letter published Nov. 22 by The Hollywood Reporter. The letter prompted Jenny Lumet, an award-winning screenwriter...

As the world grapples with the recent revelations of Matt Lauer’s alleged inappropriate sexual behavior towards his colleagues and the button under his desk that turned his workspace from an office to a playground for sexual misconduct, many have Taken to Twitter to share their thoughts. This includes Geraldo Rivera: @GeraldoRivera Sad about @MLauer great guy, highly skilled & empathetic w guests & a real gentleman to my family & me. News is a flirty business & it seems like current epidemic of #SexHarassmentAllegations may be criminalizing courtship & conflating it w predation. What about #GarrisonKeillor? 4:00 PM - Nov...

A North Texas woman says Rep. Joe Barton sent her inappropriate Facebook messages, including at least one exchange in which the congressman asked things like if she was wearing panties. The revelation comes a week after Barton apologized for a nude photo of him that circulated on social media. Kelly Canon, an Arlington tea party organizer, said she and Barton have exchanged many Facebook messages. "We would chat about 97 percent politics, and one percent A&M. The other percent he would ask what I was wearing. I though that was inappropriate, so I would shut it down," Canon said. In...