Today’s outcome in Harvey Weinstein’s New York trial is the result of the decisions of multiple women to come forward to journalists and to prosecutors at great personal cost and risk. Please keep those women in your thoughts today.
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Ronan Farrow
@RonanFarrow
Investigative reporter | Tips ronan_farrow@newyorker.com | | | Fmr undiplomatic diplomat | Bad lawyer | PhD but took yonks | Get WAR ON PEACE:
Ronan Farrow’s Tweets
Happy Pride. Here I am sitting on Madonna's lap, being not straight.
Mom.
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Replying to @CovHousePrez and @RonanFarrow
He cant drive
All I’ll say on this is that Matt Lauer is just wrong. Catch and Kill was thoroughly reported and fact-checked, including with Matt Lauer himself.
One of the men photographed carrying zip-tie handcuffs on the Senate floor unmasked as a decorated Air Force veteran. My latest for :
Two reporters, and , spent months independently reporting out Deborah Ramirez’s allegation against Brett Kavanaugh and found it credible—and documented another serious claim of misconduct with an eyewitness:
Credit where due: , independently confirming my reporting that Weinstein story was halted by NBC execs and calling her bosses to account on their own air—not an easy thing, for her or her staff— did this.
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Amazing. @RonanFarrow did this. Journalism at its best. twitter.com/MaddowBlog/sta…
Update on this: Andrew Lack is stepping down, after public protests calling for leadership change and a unionization effort within the company demanding more transparency about harassment issues there. Grateful to the sources who spoke.
Reminder: quarantined Twitter moms have a limitless supply of weapons-grade home videos and could strike at any moment.
New: Los Angeles prosecutors are moving forward with their separate case against Weinstein—which could include a more expansive group of witnesses and lead to greater sentencing exposure. Paul Thompson, the LA Deputy District Attorney, tells me: “We are definitely proceeding.”
Source involved in Weinstein trial tells me close to 50 potential jurors have been sent home because they said they’d read Catch and Kill.
Mom, you're embarrassing me in front of The Rock!
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yup that’s my life too. #mompleasedontHow an elite university research center concealed its relationship with a sex offender—documents show MIT Media Lab accepted donations directed by Jeffrey Epstein far in excess of what the university has admitted to, and worked to cover it up:
As always, if you have a newsworthy tip about any of the candidates on stage tonight, my email is: ronan_farrow@newyorker.com
I’m grateful to all the Hachette employees and authors who spoke up and to the company for listening.
Without commenting on this specific story, I'd second this request to whistleblowers with newsworthy information in general!
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Dear #Whistleblower: Go to @RonanFarrow.
Excited about this.
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Ronan Farrow To Investigate Threats & Violence Against Journalists In HBO Documentary Film dlvr.it/RN5ngS
Can finally talk about one of the big pieces of news in Catch and Kill: it’s the first time a reporter has gained access to AMI’s list of the contents of its vault of Trump secrets—and the first disclosure of claims that AMI destroyed material about Trump before the election.
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SCOOP: American Media, Inc. and the National Enquirer shredded sensitive Trump-related documents that had been held in a top-secret safe right before Trump was elected in 2016, according to fresh allegations made in a new book by journalist @RonanFarrow. politi.co/2pkED2V
We can all only hope for such a comparison.
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Ronan Farrow does such important work, and magazines always light him like he's Morticia Addams
“I helped a corrupt family seize all this control.” We investigated the Britney Spears conservatorship for months. Here’s the story, by and me:
“They made her a zombie.” Dozens of sources reveal how Britney Spears was stripped of her rights, from the ten minute hearing that approved the plan with no questions—and a witness who now regrets it—to a recent 911 call from Spears. With :
A lot of news underlines how hard it is to hold wealthy and connected people accountable. Today’s shows the power of people who speak up, from a position of far less power, at great personal risk.
After 2 weeks of multiple health screens and asking everyone to quarantine, I surprised my closest inner circle with a trip to a private island where we could pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time.
NEW: “Bullhorn Lady,” one of the FBI's most wanted after she battered windows and issued orders at the capitol, is Rachel Powell, a mother of eight from rural PA. Her path to radicalization, and what it reveals about extremism in America:
I don’t know if I count as a “Ronan Farrow like figure” but I welcome any newsworthy leads from anyone with receipts. ronan_farrow@newyorker.com. twitter.com/dougfantastic/
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NEW: A former US Marine, Donovan Crowl, stormed the Capitol as part of an organized militia. My latest for , on what he reveals about the role of far-right groups last week and beyond:
With trans issues trending, worth remembering there is an epidemic of violence against trans people of color—especially black trans women. I’ve been shocked, running stories on this going back years, how little attention it gets. The numbers show a crisis:
Here's the cover to Catch and Kill—a true account of the extreme tactics powerful men use to cover up crimes, and of the sources who risked so much to expose the truth. Grateful to be able to tell this story and to everyone who reads it. Preorder here: bit.ly/catchandkillbo
A woman of refined taste. Thanks for the support, grandmas of Twitter. twitter.com/_gretch/status
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Transgender women, particularly transgender women of color, have been dying at shocking rates for years and we are not talking about it enough / covering it enough / doing enough to save their lives.
This isn’t even my final form. twitter.com/sherberthoover
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Another line of inquiry. Tips welcome at ronan_farrow@newyorker.com.
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NEW FOOTAGE: a long, disciplined line of men in body armor moves as a unit up the #CapitolBuilding steps.
We need to identify this group.
Grateful to @lehudgins for the find.
Source: instagram.com/p/CJ10So2MqpF/
0:52
It me.
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Replying to @Emojipedia
can we talk about how much this emoji looks like ronan farrow
If you want to understand why Annabella Sciorra will be testifying during the Weinstein trial, and why it’s such a difficult and important thing she’s doing, worth returning to the original
piece where she told her story:
NEW: Cuomo called the Obama White House to attack a federal prosecutor who was investigating him. It concerned officials there enough that they reported it to DOJ. Part of a pattern of Cuomo smearing investigators that continues to this day:
I met Lizzie in law school. She started mid-career as I was starting young. We were both misfits and she was kind and generous and filled spaces that might have otherwise been lonely with her warmth and humor and idiosyncratic voice. She gave a lot to a lot of us. I miss her.
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Elizabeth Wurtzel, ‘Prozac Nation’ Author, Is Dead at 52. The cause is breast cancer.
Her startling 1994 memoir, “Prozac Nation: Young and Depressed in America,” won praise for opening a dialogue about clinical depression. nytimes.com/2020/01/07/boo
Joi Ito, MIT Media Lab's director, is stepping down, less than a day after our story (newyorker.com/news/news-desk) reported on documents and claims from whistleblowers about an extensive effort by the lab to conceal its contacts with Jeffrey Epstein.
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Breaking: @Joi Ito resigns from @MIT @medialab twitter.com/marcatracy/sta…
In the next , I look at a culture of retribution against whistleblowers under Trump—and a new complaint implicating CIA director Gina Haspel and Donald Trump’s nominee for the top legal job in the intelligence community in a retaliation campaign.
Nevils did an incredibly brave thing coming forward the way she did. She upended her life to ensure accountability and protect others.
. has pointed out facts that contradict aspects of ‘s column about my work in The New Yorker. A few additional thoughts:
I take this as a high compliment. twitter.com/litherland/sta
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Radar/National Enquirer going after me for a reporting meeting during my investigation into them, with a PI perhaps best known for his dubious work on their behalf, is certainly something.
“It was supposed to be temporary.” My investigation into the plan that stripped Britney Spears of her rights, her battle to regain control of her life, and the dilemmas of conservatorship abuse. With . Read here: newyorker.com/news/american- Thread below:
Hey Ethan, I'd be happy to get all your students War on Peace so they can keep studying safely. DM me your information. And thanks to teachers everywhere keeping at it remotely.
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My seniors are studying modern Afghanistan, and I wanted to play a chapter from War on Peace by @RonanFarrow on audiobook in class. Now, we're online and I can't really ask kids to buy the book - thoughts? Many students have used an Audible free trial already #edchatme
Grateful to Rose and to all the sources who risked much to make telling this story possible. twitter.com/rosemcgowan/st
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If you’re hearing about my reporting before it’s published, it’s likely because parties with an interest in spinning or downplaying their role are putting out inaccurate characterizations of that reporting—take it with a grain of salt.
FBI tip line below. And if you have information on the participants or planning process behind yesterday’s events and want to talk to a reporter, lots of good options out there but feel free to reach out to me at ronan_farrow@newyorker.com.
I am always interested in newsworthy tips about both democrats and republicans. ronan_farrow@newyorker.com, and I can transition comms to a secure channel from there if you're a whistleblower in a sensitive position.
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@RonanFarrow After reading Catch and Kill, I am convinced that you are the journalist to investigate and explain the Trump and Republican decimation of the US Constitution.
*Spit-take*
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While MIT has maintained that it only accepted $800,000 from Epstein, documents and sources show that he was credited with direct involvement in at least $7.5 million of donations, and gave input about how to use the funds.
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After Epstein was a convicted sex offender, listed as "disqualified" from donating in MIT's database, MIT Media Lab worked closely with Epstein, secretly taking donations from him or labeled as having been secured at his direction, from his contacts, including Bill Gates.
Update: after our story last night on MIT Media Lab's dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, Joi Ito, the lab's director, resigned, and MIT's President announced an independent investigation: newyorker.com/news/news-desk
People will be outraged when they read the full extent of what Rose went through in Catch and Kill. Grateful to her and to all the sources who did a difficult thing to make telling this story possible. twitter.com/rosemcgowan/st
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Downside of rep for investigative stories: called prominent dem politician involved in impeachment, whom I used to interview routinely. Instead heard from panicked comms dir who said staff worried/politician refusing comment/punting to lawyer. I hadn’t yet said what it was about.
Our reporting was possible because of the courage of whistleblowers, most notably Signe Swenson, and because of long hours from the team at the : including , , , , , our lawyer Fabio Bertoni, and David Remnick.
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Update: after our story last night on MIT Media Lab's dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, Joi Ito, the lab's director, resigned, and MIT's President announced an independent investigation: newyorker.com/news/news-desk
👋🏼 Hola Excma. Sra. D. Margarita Robles , aquí tiene más información sobre la revista The New Yorker:
newyorker.com/about/us/
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She struck me as a terrifically kind person and a savvy businesswoman, and I kind of feel like we all owe her an apology for this bullshit? (4/4)
I will do anything for Tina Fey.
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Everyone else who's #socialdistancing is reading @RonanFarrow's Catch & Kill. I'm catching up on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt... and who do I see?!
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Epstein was secretly invited to meet with faculty and leadership. He was accompanied by two young women, and lab staff feared for their safety. Staff were told to avoid naming Epstein in emails about the meeting and to prevent a professor who objected from spotting Epstein.
"How’s that working out for you today, bitch?" The inimitable sat down with me to discuss Harvey Weinstein's lawyer, trial, and conviction—and where survivors go from here. Read:
Annabella Sciorra testifies in Harvey Weinstein’s trial today. Here’s her story, as she first told it publicly:
*Goes to Los Angeles once.*
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Happy birthday to my favorite prom date! Here’s to another year of glowing up, @RonanFarrow! 
This was real. Steve loved video games and took them seriously as an art form. Especially adventure games—an extension of his love of math and puzzles and, later on, escape rooms, which he and his partner Jeff really crushed. We talked about his love of Myst a lot over the years.
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I'm sorry WHAT. WAT.
Babe I love Sunday as much as the next person, like LOTS, but a world in which Sondheim made games instead is a bit goddamn dazzling to consider.
This is painful and frankly I’ve been avoiding coverage of this documentary, but this eyewitness account is such a significant piece of information.
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Allison Stickland, the nanny who says she witnessed Woody Allen's head buried in Dylan's naked lap, has come forward: "I was shocked… It’s not something you expect to see… a situation you expect to see a father and daughter in." thedailybeast.com/nanny-who-witn
Big time. I am framing the letter she wrote me about Catch and Kill.
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@RonanFarrow are you a swiftie please it’s for research purposes
The below cultural artifact is truly bonkers and made me think of the one conversation I’ve ever had with Jessica Simpson. It was brief—perhaps she wouldn’t even recall it—but it’s stayed with me. (1/4)
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the Discourse has, unfortunately, led me to this 2009 Vanity Fair profile of Jessica Simpson, which is fully deranged
Fellow journos, abroad and especially here in the US: if you have a story we should be looking at, drop me a line at ronan_farrow@newyorker.com.
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"'Farrow and team will investigate threats, intimidation and violence directed at journalists working to expose corruption and abuse by governments, corporations and other powerful interests,' HBO said in the announcement." bit.ly/2NvYC81
I got the Xena endorsement, I can go home now.
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Fantastic! A Must-Read. @RonanFarrow , you are a credit to your profession and America. twitter.com/RonanFarrow/st…
I feel attacked.
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Could a robot replace a New Yorker writer? We fed The New Yorker’s archive to an artificial-intelligence writer, which predicts text based on preceding language. Then we asked it to write for us. nyer.cm/obFymA4
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Whistleblowers said they feared the lab helped Epstein shield himself with his relationships with prestigious institutions—and that they believed a cover-up was ongoing.
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Internal emails and sources show lab leadership actively directed staff to conceal Epstein's role in the contributions. Epstein was listed only by his initials on the lab director's calendar. Staff took to calling Epstein "Voldemort" or "he who must not be named."
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Crowd-sourced efforts to identify people who breached the Capitol, by experts including (who referred Brock’s name to the FBI) and , as well as people without formal training, are ongoing.
We stan Julie K. Brown in these parts.
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Me trying to keep up with the Jeffrey Epstein story now that @ronanfarrow and the rest of the universe is on the story media.giphy.com/media/hCqXUGnG
How did they pull off this booking though?
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LA, BIG NEWS — @RonanFarrow @electrolemon & @ashleyn1cole are joining @jonlovett at #LovettorLeaveIt LIVE this Wednesday 10/30 at the @HollywoodImprov. Get tickets: go.crooked.com/BugatH
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Update: hours after the publication of this story, Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation, saying it will be effective in 14 days.
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The man’s name, disclosed for the first time in this story, is Larry Rendell Brock Jr., a retired Lt Colonel.
Fans of Jonathan content will be dismayed to hear that the final round of edits dispensed with several scenes in the relationship subplot, which afforded your fave some delightful zingers but didn’t sufficiently advance the narrative. t.co/7nHWjjsTy6
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The Weinstein sentence reminds us of the importance of those sources and of leaders at news organizations who refused to kill the story—including the editors at the New Yorker who published the first allegations of rape and assault about Weinstein.
Proud that Catch and Kill is #1 on the independent bestseller list in its second week on sale. Always buy indie if you have the choice—it keeps competition alive and supports small businesses at a tough time for… instagram.com/p/B4Nfs0WDq3i/
I caught and killed that.
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Replying to @jonlovett @MMFlint and 3 others
I suspect I speak for all LoL listeners when I say we want to see that photo of @RonanFarrow on a rollercoaster losing his fucking chill.
From a hacking at 10 Downing St to the world’s biggest forensically documented spyware attack—I spent 2 years digging into the spyware industry, accessing its most notorious firm and the tech platforms warring against it, with your privacy in the balance:
State Dept staffers say Mike Pompeo was obsessed with his presidential prospects and showed a disregard for his staff and work—once, he expressed annoyance at having to facilitate the rescue of an American hostage because he wanted to nap. New :
I support the union’s push for fair pay. These are incredibly talented, dedicated people. Couldn’t do the reporting I’ve done without them. twitter.com/tunielu/status
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Legal experts said his behavior may have broken the law regardless.
Ronan 2020: Thank you for always being so supportive I wish you could talk
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Family members said that Brock had become increasingly radical in recent years, and that they believed racist views may have motivated him (which Brock denied).
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(Ideally you don’t want jurors to have been exposed to a lot of prior reporting, however fair. Reminder of how fraught jury selection is in high profile cases.)
For everyone who can’t get Catch and Kill on Amazon: it sold out there. They’re working to restock as soon as possible. In the mean time, CatchAndKill.com has links to other sellers, including independent ones. Thank you for supporting this kind of investigative reporting.
Here's the first in a special series of excerpts from Catch and Kill—about how a pair of private detectives became embroiled in an international plot involving former Mossad agents, Harvey Weinstein, and an operation to shut down my reporting:
Update: Larry R Brock, whose identity and role in the siege of the Capitol disclosed Friday night, has been arrested in Texas, says . Charged with entering restricted building and violent entry / disorderly conduct. Original story here: newyorker.com/news/news-desk
Associated Press review.
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I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative.
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@jonlovett So, what's @RonanFarrow's fave @TacoBell menu item? What's he campaigning to save?
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In a letter to the judge this week, Weinstein’s attorneys said that reporting “destroyed“ his life. In fact, it fairly parsed a mountain of evidence suggesting Weinstein’s actions accomplished that. I hope it encourages more people to speak and more outlets to back tough stories.
NEW: Cuomo insiders disclose how they scrambled to leak his first accuser’s personnel files, as she, in her first detailed interview, raises new allegations—from a sexual remark involving a dog to de Blasio’s face on a dartboard:
