David Boies: I Didn’t Betray The New York Times for Harvey Weinstein
“because I perceived the investigators’ work as trying to ascertain the exact charges against Mr. Weinstein and to develop facts that would prove the charges untrue, I thought at the time that was an appropriate endeavor.”
.. Boies told his colleagues: “Had I known at the time that this contract would have been used for the services that I now understand it was used for, I would never have signed it or been associated in any way with this effort.
.. Boies had few defenders in the legal community Tuesday. Two of his prominent friends, famed First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams and former Solicitor General Ted Olson (who, along with Boies, helped win the Supreme Court’s legalization of same-sex marriage), both declined interview requests.
.. “On the other hand,” he added, “I think in the main, the media is focusing on an entirely legitimate problem—what is the right role for investigators so they don’t cross the line…I think most people say it’s not appropriate to try to intimidate or pressure people, although that happens both from time to time by investigators and by reporters, for that matter.”
.. Boies said, “it was absolutely clear that we had to be free to continue to represent people who the New York Times was investigating or reporting about.”
.. Boies said that as of Monday, he had only billed five hours, at his usual rate of $1,650 per hour, to help the disgraced movie mogul counter the mushrooming accusations, which now reportedly include the likelihood that he will soon be indicted by Manhattan D.A. Cyrus Vance in two alleged 2010 rapes of Boardwalk Empire actress Paz de la Huerta.
.. Boies complained that no one at the Times, notably McCraw, bothered to contact him for his explanation of his conduct before issuing their harsh statement
.. response to the paper’s refusal to interview him—not as Weinstein’s attorney but as someone familiar with the facts—for its investigation of the mogul’s abuses.
“It was the first time I ever experienced the situation in which [there was] the person with knowledge, and they had no interest in talking to them,” Boies said, noting that he received several letters from the Times declining his interview offer