The woman who almost became America’s first female president may have played a role in the sexual harassment scandal at the center of the #MeToo movement, and it isn’t good. According to Ronan Farrow’s latest book, Hillary Clinton’s publicist, Nick Merrill, pressured Farrow to drop his story on Harvey Weinstein, allegedly at Weinstein’s behest.
Farrow dropped this bombshell in his book Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators, set to release October 15.
“Weinstein also attempted to leverage his long-term relationship with Hillary Clinton to pressure Farrow, he writes,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. “In summer 2017, while Farrow was trying to lock down an interview with Clinton for his foreign policy book — while also still working on the Weinstein story — he received a call from Clinton’s publicist, Nick Merrill, who told him that the ‘big story’ Farrow was working on was a ‘concern for us.'”
It gets worse for Hillary, however: “Then, in September 2017, according to an email cited in the book, Weinstein wrote to Deborah Turness, the ex-president of NBC News who now runs NBC News International, to propose a docuseries on Clinton. ‘Your Hillary doc series sounds absolutely stunning,’ Turness responded.”
Dozens of women have accused Weinstein of pressuring them to give him sexual favors in exchange for access to the acting business. He is set to face trial on rape charges in New York City in January.
Farrow’s reporting suggests that Clinton — hailed as a champion of women — pressured Ronan Farrow to drop his story on one of the most notorious offenders whose story launched the #MeToo movement against sexual assault.
In recent days, some have speculated that Clinton may be planning another presidential run if former Vice President Joe Biden fades. She recently said, “So maybe there does need to be a re-match” of 2016. “Obviously, I can beat him again.”
Not only did Clinton lose the election in 2016, but this recent scandal will likely put any such speculation to bed.
Follow Tyler O’Neil, the author of this article, on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
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