Hillary Clinton to donate Weinstein's campaign money

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that she would donate the money Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein contributed to her political campaigns after multiple sexual assault allegations were levelled against the powerful media mogul.

In a CNN interview on Wednesday night, Clinton said she was "sick" and "shocked" when she found out about the allegations, first revealed in a report by The New York Times and then a more detailed report by The New Yorker.

"I was appalled. It was something that was just intolerable in every way.

"And, you know, like so many people who've come forward and spoken out, this was a different side of a person who I and many others had known in the past."

On her donations, Clinton added that it was not possible to give the money back but that she would donate it to charity.

"What other people are saying, what my former colleagues are saying, is they're going to donate it to charity, and of course I will do that," she said.

Clinton said she had no idea that Weinstein acted that way in private, despite some in Hollywood saying that people close to him had known.

"I certainly didn't, and I don't know who did," she told CNN.

"But I can only speak for myself, and I think speak for many others who knew him primarily through politics."

Weinstein has long been a top Democratic donor and throughout Clinton's political career, the Hollywood mogul helped raise around $1.5 million for the Party and associated groups by bundling donations.

Clinton also headlined multiple fundraisers hosted by Weinstein.

According to the Times expose, the powerful film producer had faced many accusations of sexual harassment spanning decades. He reached at least eight settlements with women between 1990 and 2015.

Actress Ashley Judd was among the accusers who spoke to the Times for the story.

When the story came out on September 5, Weinstein denied some of the allegations, but also admitted that he had behaved improperly at times during his career. He apologised for causing pain.

--IANS

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