The Slatest

Close Trump Associate Invests in Weinstein Company, Will Presumably Also Pursue Cosby Partnership

Harvey Weinstein and Tom Barrack in Los Angeles in 2013.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Harvey Weinstein’s Weinstein Company has been in big trouble since a New York Times article and multiple follow-ups in other publications documented a number of instances in which Weinstein is accused of sexually harassing, assaulting, and raping women with whom he was interacting for ostensibly professional reasons. On Monday, the Weinstein Company announced that a financier named Tom Barrack has agreed to provide it with “an immediate capital infusion” and begin negotiations regarding “a potential sale of all or a significant portion of the Company’s assets.” Weinstein has been fired, but as of now still retains an ownership stake in the company; it’s also difficult to read the details of the allegations against Weinstein and not conclude that other executives who worked with him must have known about his behavior. In other words, it appears that Tom Barrack is bailing Harvey Weinstein and his enablers out.

What are some of the other items on Tom Barrack’s professional résumé? Let’s hear from CNN:

It was 1994 and the land once known as “Trump City” was an embarrassing boondoggle, crumbling at the feet of an erratic namesake who took out $400 million in loans and seemed all too willing to default on more. Chase realtors could not see a path to black for debt king Donald Trump.

Tom Barrack could.

Barrack, the network writes, then traveled from “New York to Los Angeles, Taiwan, London and Saudi Arabia, begging billionaires to buy the loans and keep the bankers from Trump’s throat.” And it worked! Barrack would go on to become a major fundraiser for Trump’s presidential campaign and chair Trump’s inaugural committee. Trump, of course, has been accused of sexual assault by 15 women.

Tom Barrack, no joke, also helped Michael Jackson refinance debt related to Neverland Ranch in 2008, though it should be noted that a jury found Jackson not guilty when he was tried for child molestation in 2005.

Still, if Woody Allen ever needs quick cash, I know who he should call! (It’s Tom Barrack.)