What did Sandy Livtack know, and when did he know it?
/From the Greenwich Democrats' First Selectman candidate's biography:
I started at Disney as the "Senior Vice President and General Counsel" on April 30, 1991. Shortly thereafter I became "Executive Vice President Law and Human Resources.” In 1994, I became "Senior Executive Vice President and Chief of Corporate Operations" with all Corporate Departments (except the CFO) reporting to me. In that position, I was responsible for a workforce of thousands of employees located throughout the United States and abroad. In 1995 I was elected to the Board of Directors of Disney and in 1999 I became Vice Chairman of the Board.
Disney owned Miramax (a/k/a Weinstein Productions) at the height of Harvey's predations: did the chief counsel really know nothing about it?
Two weeks ago, Breitbart News was the first to report about the possible legal liability for those corporations that backed Harvey Weinstein over three decades. On top of the Weinstein Company, which was formed in 2005, there is the Walt Disney Company. From 1993 to 2005, Disney owned Miramax while Weinstein, along with his brother Bob, ran it. Breitbart’s Joel Pollak explained:
As more alleged victims come forward, it is possible that some could decide to sue Disney for failing to exercise its arguable duty, during its ownership of Weinstein’s Miramax for more than a decade, to protect employees from a sexually predatory boss — if, in fact, Disney knew or had reason to know of his behavior.By failing to intervene early, those in a position to hold Weinstein accountable arguably allowed him to continue his abusive behavior and could now conceivably face legal liability from victims — at least from those who did not sign the settlement agreements that have been revealed.
The big question is whether or not Disney knew anything about Weinstein’s alleged behavior, which includes what the New York Times reported as a 1997 settlement with actress Rose McGowan (who says Weinstein raped her). Actress Asia Argento also claims Weinstein raped her in 1997 during the Disney era.
For its part, if true, reports of additional settlements and the Weinstein Company “allowing” for sexual harassment in Harvey Weinstein’s contract — meaning he could not be terminated for it — will make it extremely difficult for the company to continue to claim that nobody knew.
As far as Disney, if indeed there were sexual harassment settlements while Weinstein was at Miramax, did Disney know about them?
Look for Greenwich Free Press's Democrat operative Leslie Yager to publish a full interview with her candidate tomorrow, asking probing questions and demanding answers.
Or not.