Allegations mount against Weinstein as women speak out
Hillary Clinton and former President Obama condemn the movie giant amid the scandal.
TOP OF THE MORNING
It's Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017. Welcome to Fox News First, your first stop for today's news. Get these stories emailed directly to your inbox by clicking here.
Here's your Fox News First 5 - the first five things you need to know today:
- Harvey Weinstein scandal exposes his deep ties to the Clintons and Obamas, reveals liberal hypocrisy
- Lindsay Lohan reportedly defends Weinstein as his wife dumps him
- Fox News Exclusive: Iran's nuclear weapons program is far from halted, a report says
- Exonerating emails: Messages show Donald Trump Jr. meeting at Trump Tower wasn't about Clinton 'dirt'
- Las Vegas massacre timeline raises questions
'HANNITY' EXCLUSIVE TONIGHT: Don't miss Sean's interview with President Trump -- on tax reform and more -- for the entire hour at 9 p.m. ET!
Let's dive deeper into these stories ...
THE LEAD STORY: As Democrats distance themselves from Harvey Weinstein and his growing sex scandal, the Clintons and Obamas are finding it difficult to escape their deep ties to the Hollywood mogul and Democratic donor ... Five days after sexual harassment allegations surfaced against Weinstein, Hillary Clinton broke her silence, saying she was "shocked and appalled." Hours later, the Obamas released a statement of their own, saying: "Any man who demeans and degrades women in such fashion needs to be condemned and held accountable, regardless of wealth or status." Why didn't the Obamas and Clintons condemn Weinstein sooner? A deep and tangled history and a long campaign money trail could help explain the delay.
Weinstein gave or helped raise more than $100,000 for Barack Obama and the Clintons since at least 1995, according to OpenSecrets.org. Roughly half of that went to Hillary Clinton's presidential and Senate campaigns, including a political committee she used to support other Democrats and a joint fund with the DNC in 2016. In total, the Hollywood producer gave or helped raise -- or "bundle" -- $1.5 million for Democratic candidates over that time, according to Open Secrets, the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics' website that tracks campaign finance.
Weinstein, who was fired from his own company Sunday following sexual misconduct allegations dating back decades, hosted two Hillary Clinton fundraisers just in the last election.
- Tucker Carlson: It's time for the Justice Dept. to investigate
- Everything you need to know about the Harvey Weinstein sex scandal
- Roundup of Hollywood's reaction to the Weinstein sex allegations
"MEAN GIRL" DEFENDS HARVEY, THEN RETREATS: Lindsay Lohan reportedly defended Harvey Weinstein on social media as his wife announced she was leaving him ... "I feel very bad for Harvey Weinstein right now, I don't think it's right what's going on," Lohan said on two Instagram Story videos, according to EOnline.com. "I think Georgina needs to take a stand and be there for her husband."
"He's never harmed me or did anything to me — we've done several movies together," Lohan continued. "I think everyone needs to stop — I think it's wrong. So stand up."
Lohan's comments have since been deleted. Weinstein, meanwhile, has reportedly left the U.S. for Europe to enter rehab.
FOX NEWS EXCLUSIVE: Iran's nuclear program is far from halted, according to an investigative report obtained exclusively by Fox News ... The 52-page investigative report by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), titled "Iran's Nuclear Core: Uninspected Military Sites," is expected to be released today. It comes as President Trump is expected to decertify the Iran nuclear deal, declaring that the 2015 agreement by the U.S. and five other international powers is not in America's national interest. The matter will then be tossed back to Congress, which will have 60 days to decide whether to re-impose hefty pre-2015 sanctions.
- From Fox News Opinion: On Iran, Trump's advisers offer 'dumb' and 'dumber' options
- Iranian armed forces spokesperson: 'It's time to teach Americans new lessons'
THE DIRTY TRUTH ABOUT THE INFAMOUS TRUMP TOWER MEETING? The infamous July 2016 meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian attorney at Trump Tower was not set up to pass on damaging information about Hillary Clinton on behalf of the Russian government, newly revealed emails suggest ... Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya believed she was meeting President Trump’s oldest son to discuss the Magnitsky Act, a 2012 sanction law aimed at top Russian officials, and did not have information on behalf of the Kremlin to pass on to the Trump campaign, according to the emails. In an email chain between music publicist Rob Goldstone and Veselnitskaya, she asks to invite Russian-born lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin to the meeting, saying he was “working to advance these issues with several congressmen,” the Wall Street Journal reported.
- Flashback, July 2017: Donald Trump Jr. tells Sean Hannity: 'In retrospect I probably would have done things a little differently'
- Featured on FoxNews.com: President Trump and the Russia investigation: What to know
LAS VEGAS MASSACRE TIMELINE DISPUTED: Authorities are facing questions about police response and hotel security as they defend their revised timeline of the Las Vegas massacre ... On Monday, Clark County, Nev., Sheriff Joe Lombardo said gunman Stephen Paddock shot and wounded a Mandalay Bay hotel security guard outside his hotel room door and sprayed 200 bullets down the hall six minutes before he opened fire from his high-rise suite on a crowd at a country music festival below. That was a different account from the one police gave last week: that Paddock shot the unarmed guard after unleashing his barrage of fire on the crowd, where 58 people were killed and hundreds were injured.
MGM Resorts International, owner of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, has questioned the new timeline. "We cannot be certain about the most recent timeline that has been communicated publically (sic), and we believe what is currently being expressed may not be accurate," Debra DeShong, a spokeswoman for MGM, said in a statement.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT
POWER-HUNGRY HYPOCRITES: "This is a guy who is a serial predator, he is a pervert. Everyone looked the other way because people were worried that their careers would be ruined or they would lose access to that influence and power." – Talk radio host Dana Loesch, on "The Story with Martha MacCallum," ripping Hollywood elites for hiding Harvey Weinstein's alleged sexual assaults for decades. WATCH
"HEROES" IN WEINSTEIN SCANDAL: "You know who's brave? The intern or the assistant who's working in that office for less than a year - the actress who's never had a [film] role who comes forward and who knows their story is going to be squashed by a press who is complicit." – Kennedy, on "The Five," reflecting on the women who were production assistants and aspiring actresses who may have endured abuse under Weinstein. WATCH
MINDING YOUR BUSINESS
Congress is 'very close' to comprehensive tax reform: Rep. Diane Black.
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NEW IN FOX NEWS OPINION
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HOLLYWOOD SQUARED
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Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins reportedly began relationship with fan from prison.
DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS?
Next-generation U.S. Postal Service truck starts zipping around town.
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STAY TUNED
On Fox News:
Fox & Friends, 6 a.m. ET: Meet the farmer who used his fields to send a message to the NFL; Rep. Marsha Blackburn reacts to Twitter reversing its stance and allowing her controversial Senate campaign ad to run on its social media platform.
Hannity, 9 p.m. ET: President Trump sits down with Sean for the entire hour in an exclusive, wide-ranging interview in Harrisburg, Pa.
On Fox Business:
Mornings with Maria, 6 a.m. ET: Jason Furman, former chairman of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, weighs in on the chances for tax reform and President Trump's anticipated executive action on ObamaCare.
Varney & Co., 9 a.m. ET: Border Patrol Union President Brandon Judd sizes up President Trump's new immigration plan.
Countdown to the Closing Bell, 3 p.m. ET: House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady tackles the latest in tax reform.
The Brian Kilmeade Show, 9 a.m. ET to 12 noon ET: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman gives insight on the possibility of Trump decertifying the Iran nuke deal; Sen. Lindsey Graham weighs in on the latest rumblings from North Korea and Trump's immigration plan.
#OnThisDay
1991: While testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Anita Hill accuses Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexually harassing her; Thomas re-appears before the panel to denounce the proceedings as a "high-tech lynching."
1987: The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt is unfurled for the first time on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The 7,000-pound quilt bears the names, personal effects and, in some cases, ashes of AIDS victims.
1968: Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission, is launched with astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn Fulton Eisele and R. Walter Cunningham aboard.
1910: Theodore Roosevelt became the first former U.S. president to fly in an airplane during a visit to St. Louis.
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