Hillary Ignored Staffers’ Sexual Harassment Allegations

(ZHE) — The #MeToo movement is finally coming for Hillary Clinton, who has for years been dogged by accusations that she helped intimidate women accusing her husband of certain improprieties.

In a bombshell report, the New York Times reported that a senior adviser to Hillary Clinton was kept on her 2008 campaign despite allegations that he sexually harassed a young female staffer. Clinton’s campaign manager at the time advised the campaign to fire the adviser, Burns Strider, who served as the faith adviser to the campaign, and reportedly sent Clinton Bible verses every day.

Instead, Clinton intervened: Strider was kept on, but he was docked several weeks’ pay and underwent counseling. Notably, Strider was a founder of the American Values Network.

Five years later, Strider was hired by Clinton associates to lead Correct the Record, a group that supported Clinton’s candidacy. He was fired a few months later following allegations that he harassed a female staffer there.

A Clinton spokesman provided a statement from Utrecht, Kleinfeld, Fiori, Partners, the law firm that had represented the 2008 campaign.

“To ensure a safe working environment, the campaign had a process to address complaints of misconduct or harassment. When matters arose, they were reviewed in accordance with these policies, and appropriate action was taken, the statement said. “This complaint was no exception.”

The Times based its account on interviews with no fewer than eight former Clinton staffers.

EXCLUSIVE – w @amychozick, Hillary Clinton went against a recommendation a senior adviser accused of harassment in 2008 get fired https://t.co/2befpWOCTy

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 26, 2018

Then-campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle and other senior officials discussed the situation involving Strider and Clinton’s response at the time. Some of them were bothered by the fact he was allowed to remain.

Clinton memorably waiting nearly a week before issuing a statement rebuking her former friend and fundraiser, Harvey Weinstein.

Statement from Secretary Clinton on Harvey Weinstein: pic.twitter.com/L1l2wl9l0I

— Nick Merrill (@NickMerrill) October 10, 2017

But this hasn’t stopped her from offering her full-throated support for the Women’s March and young women everywhere who are trying to realize their dreams…

In 2017, the Women’s March was a beacon of hope and defiance. In 2018, it is a testament to the power and resilience of women everywhere. Let’s show that same power in the voting booth this year. #PowerToThePolls

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) January 20, 2018

The woman who filed the initial complaint against Strider was 30 at the time. She shared an office with him and alleged that he had rubbed her shoulders inappropriately, kissed her on the forehead and sent her a string of “suggestive” emails.

The woman’s complaint was relayed to Clinton by Doyle, who urged the candidate to fire Strider – he was married at the time. Clinton refused.

But perhaps the most galling detail in the story is the fact that the accuser has been prevented from coming forward by the NDA she signed when she took her job.

Lena Dunam, a Clinton supporter, even told the Times that she warned Clinton campaign aides about Weinstein and the fact that his history of assaults “is going to come out at some point.”

Nick Merrill, the former director of communications for the Clinton campaign, said such a warning would not have been ignored.

By Tyler Durden / Republished with permission / Zero Hedge / Report a typo

This article was chosen for republication based on the interest of our readers. Anti-Media republishes stories from a number of other independent news sources. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect Anti-Media editorial policy.

World Exclusive: New Kevin Spacey Accuser Claims That He ‘Grabbed My Upper Thigh, Took His Pinky And Rubbed My Junk’

This story has not been published anywhere in the world yet, and so you are getting to read this before anyone else does.  I take allegations of sexual assault extremely seriously, and I would not have published this if these accusations were not solid.  Joshua Chavez personally sent me call sheets and other documentation that establishes that he did work on the film projects that he describes below, and a very close personal friend of mine knows Joshua extremely well and helped connect us for this story.  If Kevin Spacey would like to personally respond to these allegations, he can have equal space on my websites to do so.  Like so many of the other allegations against him, my guess is the Spacey will not dispute these facts either.

Some have speculated that the reason why Spacey was able to play a deeply evil character so convincingly on “House of Cards” was because of the deep evil that is in his heart.  If all of the allegations against Spacey are true, he is a predator of the highest order, and it says a lot about the culture of Hollywood that he was able to engage in this pattern of behavior for so many years without ever getting into trouble for it.

Once again, what you are about to read are allegations from someone that previously worked with Spacey.  I am satisfied with the documentation that Chavez provided for this story, and I very much trust the good friend that connected the two of us.  What follows is Joshua’s story in his own words, and I hope that all of you will help me get Joshua’s story out to the rest of the world…

*****

My name is Joshua Chavez and in 2007 I entered into the film industry where I began a lucrative business as a sound mixer. I didn’t start as one; I had to work my way up from a PA, sound utility, boom operator and then mixer. In 2012 I was asked to work for a certain sound mixer on three short films Kevin Spacey and his company trigger street productions was doing as the boom operator. Now a sound mixer is the head of the sound department and the boom operator is just below him and is responsible for picking up every line spoken by the actor or actress with a high-powered microphone. The first short film we worked on was called “The Ventriloquist” which was shot on March 22st and 23nd, the second short film was called “Spirit of a Denture” shot on March 26th and 27th, and then third short we shot was on April 1st and 2nd and that was called “Envelope”.

These three short films were all a part of a contest put on between trigger street productions and Jameson Whiskey called Jameson first shot. Writers from all over the world would send in their scripts for a chance to direct their own script and have it fully funded with Kevin Spacey as the main actor. The first day on set was at the promenade off of Figueroa St. in highland park LA. The first day of principal photography was the same as all the rest of the projects I’d been a part of. It was also uneventful considering what the rest of the days were going to be like working so close with Kevin Spacey. That first day I had met him he didn’t pay much attention to me. That is very normal for an A list actor towards a boom operator. I had introduced myself, put a lav (small hidden mic) on him a couple times and also boomed his scenes. Everything was very normal, nothing out of the ordinary. At that point in time, I had no idea Kevin was gay or attracted to me.

Day two was a whole different story though; the moment he got to set he began his relentless pursuit for me. I was sitting next to craft service (a table filled with all the snacks you could possibly imagine) and I noticed him pull up in a vehicle, get out, notice me and walk straight for me. I wasn’t sure he was looking at me or walking towards me for that matter but he was, he literally walked past every person on set, put out his hand in my direct and shook my hand with a big smile on his face and said “good morning Joshua, its good to see you back today” I was shocked and really confused. Kevin Spacey walked past every person on set to come say good morning to me, and he remembered my name… WHAT?! I didn’t realize his intentions at the moment so I felt really special, something like that had never happened to me before. The rest of the day was also normal, but Kevin would speak to me every now and then and he also sat down and had lunch with my sound mixer and myself.

The end of the first project had passed and the second short film was now underway, “Spirit of Denture”. The location we were filming at was called Soler Dental off of Los Feliz Blvd. in Los Angeles. It was a small dental office, which meant we were all in very close proximity to each other. One of the scenes in the dental office was Kevin’s character a Dentist with an active imagination looking out of his sliding glass window through binoculars. Now since the space was very small, and the cameras were behind him, I had to stand on a counter table that lined the wall right next to the sliding glass door. It was the only spot I could be in to properly get his lines without my reflection being seen by the cameras in the sliding glass door Kevin was standing in front of. There are many takes in order to get one scene and during this scene was when all of the real sexual assaults began to happen and from then on after. My first encounter with him during this scene was when the director yelled cut. I dropped my boom from over my head and sat down on the counter to rest while the camera changed some lenses for the next shot. Kevin was directly in front of me; he turned to me and asked me what I thought about his acting during that scene.

It was actually a funny question because why would my opinion matter to an A list actor. Regardless I politely answered the question “Yes, it was a good scene” and smiled, he then said “thank you” and lightly put his hand on my thigh. It was so quick and light that it didn’t really sound any alarms, however I didn’t feel comfortable with it. Since I was sitting on the counter and he was standing up, my thigh was about waist height to him. So I kind of ignored it and continued on. Well that was not the end of it, at the end of the next shot, he turned to me again and asked me the same question again, I replied the same, I mean it’s not like I was going say “Kevin, that was actually horrible… you need to stop acting and become a mime”! No, I’d be fired on the spot!

So I said it was great, he smiled again and then put his hand back onto my thigh, but this time it was for a very long period of time. It was so long that I started to move my thigh in hope he would take it off. He smiled and turned away. Now that time about every fiber in my body was screaming… that was not normal and there is something horribly wrong! Well the third time it happened yet again but this time he grabbed my upper thigh, took his pinky and rubbed my junk. “Woe, I am not comfortable with that, sorry but I’m not attracted to men. He took his hand off my upper thigh as if what I said didn’t even phase him, smiled at me and walked away. I was absolutely dumbfounded and shocked. I remember immediately going back to the mixer who I was working with and told him what had happened; he was surprised but shrugged it off.

To be completely honest and transparent I shrugged it off as well. I told him I wasn’t into guys and I figured he got the hint but he didn’t, if anything it made me an even larger target for him. I had many encounters with him after that and each one made me more and more uncomfortable. Other individuals began to notice it on set, including the 2nd AD Shelly West who made comments on his actions in an email afterward and again just recently explaining in detail what she noticed on set. In an attempt to let production know these things were happening to me, I told one of the producers about the sexual assaults I was receiving from Kevin and the over all response was “you should be flattered Kevin Spacey is attracted to you”.

This is the thing, they all had the same worry and fear I had, being fired or blacklisted from the industry for being a problem on set. It was Kevin Spacey’s Production Company, and he was the main actor. The reason why I’m even telling my story right now is because people need to know these aren’t just allegations towards him, they aren’t made up, and it’s happened to probably hundreds maybe even thousands of young men on set. Human Resources is not a department on the call sheet, and pretty much every person there is self employed and contracted out for just that gig. During each production, if you are nice, work hard, don’t cause problems and know what you are doing, you’ll be rehired by someone that goes on to another project; tainting your name on set will put you on unemployment. So the sexual advances went on and on for the duration of the projects. There was one instance where I was sitting in a chair on set waiting for the next scene to be set up, Kevin walked past me, stopped and asked me what I was doing after wrap that night? He then proceeded to ask me if I wanted to go and get high with him at his house, just the two of us. With an uncomfortable laugh I said “you’re funny” pretending he was joking and walked away. I was once putting a lav on him for a scene and while I was doing it, he began to sexually rub my shoulders and preceded to tell me I have beautiful eyes.

The list goes on and on. After I finished those projects I didn’t feel like it affected me all that much, however in the past five years, I’ve told probably a hundred of people my encounter with him. I’ve never watched a single project that he’s been in since. I refused to watch house of cards because I didn’t want to support him. I guess I didn’t quite realize the scarring I received from him until my girl at the time pointed out I talked about it a lot.

Looking back, I should have done something about it, came out with it publicly or sued him in hopes he wouldn’t do it to someone else. One thing I would like to say is, Kevin I forgive you for what you did to me all those years back, but you have to stop what you’re doing and repent. If it scarred a guy that’s 26 like I was and me not even know it, what do you think it has done to all the little boys you’ve done it to. You have to repent for your sins and look to Jesus for change because you may not pay for what you’ve done in this life, but you sure will in front of the white throne judgment with a packed court house of witnesses coming against you.

In conclusion, my story is just one of many who have been assaulted by him, I’ve encountered guys that have had far worse experiences with him than myself. This stuff has to stop, power is being used for control and evil desires. We all need to speak up as soon as it happens, I did not do the right thing and stand up for myself. I was weak minded at the time and it took a news story about a 14 year old boy and Jesus for me to say enough is enough. I urge every single person in the industry to come out with your story, and bring hard evidence against him or her. What ever it takes to bring mere allegations into hard facts! Some of you have text messages, emails, video’s, eye witnesses, come out with them and bring a total stop to this gross abuse of power and control.

The post World Exclusive: New Kevin Spacey Accuser Claims That He ‘Grabbed My Upper Thigh, Took His Pinky And Rubbed My Junk’ appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

Cop Fired for Exposing Massive Police Sex Ring Including Children in ‘Explorers’ Program—Lawsuit

Gilroy, CA – A new lawsuit filed by a former employee is drawing attention to the Gilroy Police Department, amid accusations that high-ranking officials promoted an environment that was rife with sexual misconduct, which included everything from sex parties to inappropriate relations with underage members of the “Police Explorers” program.

After 25 years with the department, Patricia Harrell was fired from her position as a senior police communications supervisor in 2015, just three years before she was set to retire with full benefits. While she was allegedly fired for “improper conduct” with trainees, Harrell claims that she was just trying to warn them about the situation in the GPD, according to an explosive report from the Gilroy Dispatch.

Harrell’s lawsuit dropped the names of not only officers but several of their wives and girlfriends as well. She indicated that working for the police department equated with enduring years of unwanted advances, sexual impropriety on the part of officers, and retaliation when Harrell spoke out. The Gilroy Dispatch reported that Harrell’s claim in the lawsuit include:

Advertisment

• Two officers “had sexual intercourse with members of the Gilroy Explorers, comprised of youth ranging in age from fourteen (14) to twenty-one (21). When their conduct came to light, [one] was demoted, but then ‘got his stripes’ back, while [the other] was allowed to resign.”
• “At office parties, GPD employees would throw their keys in a bowl and whoever pulled a key had sex with the person who owned the key.”
• The wife of an officer, who also was a department employee, proudly displayed her pierced genitalia to pool party guests, prompting several “mortified” mothers to leave with their children.
• That woman’s police officer husband, when they were engaged, “brought a Salinas police officer to ‘screw her’ while [he] watched. She later stated that she did not do it.”
• The same woman invited another officer to touch her breasts while they were in the Communications Center, and he did.
• The same GPD employee “kept a book in which she documented all of the sexual improprieties that occurred at the GPD, so that she could reveal the information should she ever be disciplined for her misdeeds. [She stated] ‘If she goes down, other people are going down with her.’ [She] also claimed that [her police officer husband] supported the fact that she was keeping a book.”
• At a Gilroy Police Officers’ Association Christmas party, “the female spouses [of two GPD officers] were outrageously intoxicated and were sexually touching both males and females including each other. Also, several people at the party were taking pictures of females exposing their private parts.”
• On a separate occasion, [an officer] showed sexually explicit photos that were inside a locker depicting GPD personnel groping [a communications staffer].”
• “For the first several years of his employment, [a male communications staffer] attempted to make sexual advances toward [Harrell] inviting her to come to his house…despite knowing [she] was married with 4 children.”
• The same man “engaged in sexual activity with other GPD officers and employees, and attempted to have sex with men by luring them to his house with the promise of ‘wild’ and ‘crazy’ women and alcohol. When women did not show up, [he] would tell the male guest, ‘Let’s get naked while we wait’.”

According to the Gilroy Dispatch, when Harrell approached her superiors about her department’s behavior—some of which may have been illegal—she was given so much over time, she became exhausted. Her lawyers point to the fact that she earned $22,000 in overtime in 2015 as proof the department was trying to punish her for speaking out.

READ MORE:  Two LAPD Cops Shot after being "Targeted" at the Same Intersection Ezell Ford Was Killed by Police

“Harrell claims she was harassed, threatened, investigated and reinvestigated, called names, subjected to unwanted sexual advances, disciplined, shunned, admonished, punished, overworked to the point of exhaustion, wrongly accused of wrongdoing and ultimately fired,” the report noted.

Harrell’s attorney, Andrea Justo, said, “These are very serious allegations…We hope the City of Gilroy and the Gilroy Police Department take them seriously.” She described her client as, “A very loyal employee for over 20 years” and indicated the allegations, “span that amount of time.”

One of the officers named in the lawsuit is Royce Heath who was demoted from Captain to Officer in January of this year for unspecified reasons.

Predictably, the Gilroy Police Department and the mayor are not commenting on the specifics of the alleged sexual misconduct. Mayor Roland Velasco expressed his confidence in Chief Scot Smithee and called the lawsuit Harrell’s “side of the story.”

Smithee broke his silence after the story broke Thursday and on Friday issued a statement saying, “The Gilroy Police Department is full of caring and dedicated public servants. I am proud of our strong history of community service and keeping the public safe. We are determined to maintain our focus on serving the community in a professional and ethical manner.”

Harrell is a wife of 29 years and a mother of four. She had worked for the Gilroy Police Department since 1990. Harrell lost her job in 2015 after warning trainees about certain officers presumably named in the lawsuit. The department apparently considered warning young recruits of sexual predators on the force as grounds for dismissal.

READ MORE:  Police Chief Still Collecting Paycheck After Arrest for 50 Counts of Child Rape

In addition to the city and the police department, Harrell is suing the police union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, for not supporting her claimed of wrongful termination. Harrell is seeking an unspecified amount in damages.