[W]ASHINGTON — Vermont’s senior senator will donate campaign contributions he received from a top Hollywood producer in the wake of reports that he has a decades-long record of sexual harassment.
The New York Times reported Thursday about previously undisclosed sexual harassment allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein. He reached settlements with eight women over the accusations.
Weinstein, a high profile political liberal, has hosted fundraisers and donated to the campaigns of top Democrats for decades — including Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
Leahy received a total of $5,600 in donations from Weinstein since 1991, according to opensecrets.org. He gave $2,700 to Leahy during his re-election campaign last year.
Leahy campaign aide Carolyn Dwyer said early Friday that the senator has decided to donate the funds received from Weinstein to the Women’s Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation.
Leahy was the first Democrat who received donations from Weinstein to announce that he would contribute the money to a nonprofit, according to the Daily Beast.
Other recent recipients of donations from Weinstein include presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D- Conn., Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Al Franken, D-Minn.
Meg Smith, director of the Vermont Women’s Fund, said the donation from Leahy will go to the Change the Story initiative, which focuses on women’s economic security in Vermont.
“Sen. Leahy has been a steadfast and vocal supporter of women and women’s issues throughout his career,” she said in a statement. “There’s much work to be done in this area and our fund and the dollars contributed to it are focused on moving that work forward.”
