Any political donations from Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein should be returned in the wake of sexual harassment charges against him, Sen. Chris Murphy said Sunday.
The Connecticut Democrat told CNN’s “State of the Union” that Mr. Weinstein, a longtime donor to Democrats and the Democratic Party, does not appear to be the type of person politicians should associate with.
“This is a pretty bad guy who did some really awful things, and if people need for that money to be returned in order to make it clear that the entities that received them want nothing to do with him and his behavior, then that’s probably a smart move,” Mr. Murphy said.
He added that candidates of both parties often receive donations from people with “unsavory backgrounds,” but the prominence of Mr. Weinstein, one of the biggest figures in Hollywood, makes this a different situation.
“This was a high-profile individual who did some truly awful things,” Mr. Murphy said. “And people that took money from him should probably give it back.”
Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat, would not commit to returning donations from Mr. Weinstein.
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“Somebody comes to you and says, ’Oh, they contributed to you, are you giving back the money?’ And you sort of look like a startled bird and say, ’Well, let me look and see.’ And that’s the best I can do for you today,” she said.
Mr. Weinstein has not admitted to all of the sexual harassment claims first reported last week by The New York Times. President Trump over the weekend said he was not surprised by the reports.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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