Just a few weeks ago, then New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman praised the New Yorker Magazine after that publication shared a Pulitzer Prize for Ronan Farrow’s investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against film mogul Harvey Weinstein.
“Without the reporting of the @nytimes and the @newyorker —and the brave women and men who spoke up about the sexual harassment they endured at the hands of powerful men—there would not be the critical national reckoning underway,” Schneiderman tweeted then.
But suddenly it was Farrow and Jane Mayer reporting on four women accusing Schneiderman of physical abuse. One of them, Michelle Manning Barish, said she “could not remain silent and encourage other women to be brave for me.” Schneiderman initially responded to the allegations of physical violence by saying he’d engaged in “role-playing and other consensual sexual activity.””
However, three hours later, Schneiderman, who has a long history of anti-gun advocacy going back to his state Senate days and as state attorney general, resigned.
His sudden departure puts an exclamation mark on the state’s new law requiring every business in the state, presumably including the state government, to conduct annually sexual harassment training for all employees.