--- description: Weinstein reportedly hired a team of investigators to collect information on actors who were planning to take allegations against him public title: How Harvey Weinstein Tried to Silence Accusers and Journalists image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e1b5a870af17c17/6988e39a4ee26283d230f8ee/gettyimages-609751298.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Spies and Threats: How Harvey Weinstein Allegedly Tried to Silence Accusers and Journalists ## Video: "I Have Been Silenced For 20 Years" Rose McGowan Speaks Out [Watch (HLS stream): "I Have Been Silenced For 20 Years" Rose McGowan Speaks Out](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/2CJeVMyK.m3u8) (2:12)  _Published 2017-10-27. Actor Rose McGowan — speaking out publicly on Friday for the first time since accusing producer Harvey Weinstein of rape — called on women to fight back against a culture of sexual harassment._  by [Samantha Cooney](/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 7, 2017 6:25 PM CUT  Harvey Weinstein speaks at the 'Lion' press junket during the 12th Zurich Film Festival on September 22, 2016 in Zurich, Switzerland. Harvey Weinstein speaks at the 'Lion' press junket during the 12th Zurich Film Festival on September 22, 2016 in Zurich, Switzerland.Alexander Koerner—Getty Images  by [Samantha Cooney](/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 7, 2017 6:25 PM CUT [Harvey Weinstein](http://time.com/4979258/harvey-weinstein-what-happens-next/ "undefined") hired a team of private investigators to collect information on actors and journalists who were planning to take [allegations of sexual harassment and assault against him](http://time.com/4979250/how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-harvey-weinstein/ "undefined") public, according to [a new report published by the _New Yorker_](https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/harvey-weinsteins-army-of-spies "undefined"). The magazine reports that Weinstein tapped several private intelligence firms, including [Kroll](http://www.kroll.com/en-us/default.aspx "undefined") and [Black Cube](https://www.blackcube.com/ "undefined") (the latter of which is partly run by former officials from the Israeli intelligence Mossad), to help stop “the publication of the abuse allegations against Weinstein that eventually emerged in the [New York _Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/us/harvey-weinstein-harassment-allegations.html "undefined") and [_The New Yorker_](https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/from-aggressive-overtures-to-sexual-assault-harvey-weinsteins-accusers-tell-their-stories "undefined").” Those initial reports opened the floodgates for numerous allegations against Weinstein spanning decades, prompting the longtime Hollywood mogul’s production company to fire him and sparking a national conversation about sexual misconduct in the workplace. Weinstein has repeatedly denied “any allegations of non-consensual sex,” but acknowledged in a statement following [the initial _Times_ report last month](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/us/harvey-weinstein-harassment-allegations.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined") that, “I appreciate the way I’ve behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it.” “It is a fiction to suggest that any individuals were targeted or suppressed at any time,” a Weinstein spokesperson told _The New Yorker_ in its latest report. The spokesperson did not immediately respond to TIME’s request for comment. Here are highlights from _The New Yorker_ report. ## One of Weinstein’s investigators posed as a women’s rights advocate to collect information on Rose McGowan and journalists A woman who posed as woman’s rights advocate Diana Filip met repeatedly with Rose McGowan, who [publicly accused](http://time.com/5000085/rose-mcgowan-harvey-weinstein-womens-convention/ "undefined") Weinstein of rape. She also reached out to _New Yorker_ reporter Ronan Farrow and New York _Times_ reporter Jodi Kantor. Using a different aliases, she reached out to New York magazine reporter Ben Wallace, claiming she was one of Weinstein’s alleged victims. But, according to _The New Yorker,_ Filip is actually a former officer for the Israeli Defense Forces who worked for Black Cube. ## Investigators tried to find information to discredit people accusing Weinstein, and reporters on the story PSOPS, another Los Angeles-based firm, sent reports to Weinstein with negative information about McGowan, including sections labeled “lies/exaggerations/contradictions” and “past lovers,” the _New Yorker_ reports. Other firms made similar reports about other accusers, including [Rosanna Arquette](https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/from-aggressive-overtures-to-sexual-assault-harvey-weinsteins-accusers-tell-their-stories "undefined"). The firms also compiled dossiers and detailed reports on the journalists who were chasing the story, according to _The New Yorker._ Black Cube declined to comment to _The New Yorker_, the PSOPS investigators did not respond to _The New Yorker_‘s multiple requests for comment and Kroll did not immediately respond to TIME’s request for comment. ## One of Weinstein’s lawyers worked to kill a New York _Times_ story while also representing the _Times_ in a libel suit The law firm of David Boies, who previously represented Weinstein, reportedly signed contracts with Black Cube and sent the intelligence agency money. At the same time, Boies’ firm was representing the New York _Times_ in a libel suit. [The _Times_ said in a statement](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/07/us/harvey-weinstein-new-yorker.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined") it considered Boies’ actions “intolerable conduct, a grave betrayal of trust, and a breach of the basic professional standards that all lawyers are required to observe.” In an interview with _The New Yorker_, Boies, who famously represented Al Gore in the contested 2000 presidential election said he did not consider his work with both companies to be a conflict of interest. ## Weinstein tried to pressure staffers and actresses to defend him Weinstein asked [Asia Argento](http://time.com/4976003/harvey-weinstein-gwyneth-paltrow-angelina-jolie/ "undefined"), who eventually accused him of sexual assault, to speak on his behalf in December 2016\. Weinstein reportedly also had two former employees call up potential accusers, some of whom told _The New Yorker_ that the calls were frightening. A spokesperson for Weinstein said the two employees were working on a book about Miramax. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5013264/harvey-weinstein-the-new-yorker/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5013264/harvey-weinstein-the-new-yorker/"},"headline":"Spies and Threats: How Harvey Weinstein Allegedly Tried to Silence Accusers and Journalists","datePublished":"2017-11-07T18:25:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:08:40.530Z","description":"What to know about the latest report about the disgraced Hollywood mogul","url":"https://time.com/5013264/harvey-weinstein-the-new-yorker/","keywords":["celebrities","Hollywood","entertainment","Harvey Weinstein","sexual harassment","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e1b5a870af17c17/6988e39a4ee26283d230f8ee/gettyimages-609751298.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Cooney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e1b5a870af17c17/6988e39a4ee26283d230f8ee/gettyimages-609751298.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Harvey Weinstein Zurich Film Festival","caption":"'Lion' Press Junket - 12th Zurich Film Festival","creditText":"Alexander Koerner—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5013264/harvey-weinstein-the-new-yorker/","name":"Spies and Threats: How Harvey Weinstein Allegedly Tried to Silence Accusers and Journalists"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"\"I Have Been Silenced For 20 Years\" Rose McGowan Speaks Out","description":"Actor Rose McGowan — speaking out publicly on Friday for the first time since accusing producer Harvey Weinstein of rape — called on women to fight back against a culture of sexual harassment.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/2CJeVMyK/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-10-27T16:56:38.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/2CJeVMyK.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5013264/harvey-weinstein-the-new-yorker/","duration":"PT2M12S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5013264/harvey-weinstein-the-new-yorker/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```