From Haaretz:

Former Israeli PM Ehud Barak Gave Harvey Weinstein Info on Israeli Firm Hired to Fight Accusations

Haaretz Nov 07, 2017 9:08 PM

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak gave Harvey Weinstein information that facilitated his hiring of an Israeli firm to investigate several women accusing him of sexual assault and the journalists working on the stories, Israel’s Channel 2 reported on Tuesday.

The New Yorker’s Ronan Farrow reported Monday that among a number of firms hired by Weinstein was the Israeli firm Black Cube, whose employees are self-advertised as “highly experienced and trained in Israel’s elite military and governmental intelligence units.” According to the contract, signed in July, Weinstein explicitly hired Black Cube to prevent the New York Times and the New Yorker’s original reporting on Weinstein, as well as actress Rose McGowan’s book detailing his alleged abuse.

According to Channel 2, Ehud Barak unwittingly played a role in leading Weinstein to Black Cube. Weinstein even invited Barak and the head of Black Cube to a Hillary Clinton fundraiser.

A statement released on Barak’s behalf said that “over a year ago, he was asked by Weinstein if he knows about an Israeli security firm that Weinstein had heard about and can help him deal with business issues he’s currently facing. …

According to the New Yorker, Weinstein first mentioned wanting to hire Black Cube, which earned an international reputation for digging up business intelligence around the world through legally murky methods, last year. David Boies, Weinstein’s lawyer who is renowned for championing liberal causes at the highest level of the U.S. judicial system, offered Black Cube financial incentives for preventing the articles’ publication and obtaining drafts of McGowan’s books.

… In 2016, two Israeli Black Cube employees were arrested in Romania on hacking charges with the alleged aim of harassing and intimidating the country’s chief anti-corruption prosecutor.