They All Won Academy Awards

A Hollywood Reporter article reveals that Tom Ajamie, a litigator who ran up against Harvey Weinstein when he was investigating a suspect transaction Weinstein was involved in on behalf of the Foundation for Aids Research (amfAR), may have played a big role in the Movie Mogul’s downfall. Ajamie’s investigation revealed that Weinstein made a questionable deal to auction off two items that were supposed to fetch $1.2 million, the proceeds to be split between amfAR and the American Repertory Theater (ART). The items sold for far less than anticipated, but Weinstein forced amfAR to send $600,000 to ART anyway. According to Ajamie, everyone he interviewed during the course of his investigation “started off by saying things like, ‘You know he’s a sexual predator, right?’ as opposed to jumping right to this issue of financial transactions. As a lawyer who’s done dozens of these investigations, it was very odd.” At a face to face meeting with Weinstein. Ajamie couldn’t get the conversation focused on the transaction he was investigating. Weinstein, whom he described as manic, accused the lawyer of spreading rumors and destroying his reputation. According to Ajamie, ‘He was all over the place. Yelling, screaming, cajoling, begging, trying to explain, often talking in circles, confused, not confused, justifying his actions — ‘I slept with dozens and dozens of women, and you know they all won Academy Awards’.” Weinstein asked Ajamie to sign an NDA about their meeting, but he refused. Soon after was contacted by the two New York Times reporters who broke the Weinstein #MeToo story, and told them what he’d learned in the course of his investigation. The article speculates that without Weinstein’s allegedly fraudulent dealings with amfAR and ART he might never have been indicted on sexual assault charges.