Ronan Farrow Details How Spies Tracked His Weinstein Investigation in ‘Catch and Kill’ Excerpt
Ronan Farrow was under extensive surveillance from operatives allegedly hired by Harvey Weinstein in 2017 as he investigated reports of sexual assault allegations against the now-disgraced movie producer.
In a book excerpt published Monday in the New Yorker, Farrow describes the experience of being followed by and eventually befriending one of two Russian men who he believes were hired to watch his movements and intimidate him as he pursued investigative reports for the New York on Weinstein’s shocking history of alleged rape and sexual misconduct.
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Farrow reports in the excerpt from his book “Catch and Kill” that he was kept under surveillance by operatives working for the Israeli private investigation agency Black Cube.
“Hiring the agency was only a part of Weinstein’s larger effort to prevent the disclosure of the sexual-abuse claims. He also hired the private-investigation firm co-founded by Jack Palladino, who was best known for working to undermine women who had accused former President Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct,” Farrow writes. ”
“As a part of its work for Weinstein, Palladino’s firm created dossiers on both journalists and accusers. Under the guise of assembling research for a book about his company, Weinstein also hired some of his former employees to compile lists of targets and then contact the people on those lists. The lists included reporters at The New Yorker, the (New York) Times, and New York magazine; the actresses Rose McGowan, Rosanna Arquette, and Annabella Sciorra; and secondary sources who might be able to confirm those women’s stories,” Farrow writes.
“Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators” is to be published this month by Little, Brown & Co.
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