President Donald Trump said he is "not familiar" with the Harvey Weinstein case when asked for his reaction to the former Hollywood producer being charged with rape and sex abuse Friday.
Trump told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House that he didn't "know anything about it," but added, "It's really too bad. Really too bad."
In October, when the flood of accusations from dozens of women began to come out against Weinstein, Trump told reporters at the time: "I've known Harvey Weinstein for a long time, I'm not at all surprised to see it."
Weinstein turned himself in to authorities Friday morning and was arrested and processed on charges of rape, committing a criminal sex act, sexual abuse and sexual misconduct, according to the New York Police Department.
The charges stem from incidents with two separate women, the NYPD said in a statement, and were the result of a joint investigation between police and the Manhattan district attorney's office.
Weinstein is also under investigation for alleged sex crimes in Los Angeles and London. Federal prosecutors in New York have started a sex crimes investigation involving him, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The charges follow a flood of accusations against Weinstein that led women around the world to come forward with accounts of being sexually harassed by powerful men. His accusers welcomed the news as a sign that the tables were finally turning -- not only on him but on other accused predators.
During the election, at least 15 women made allegations against Trump ranging from sexual harassment and sexual assault to lewd behavior around women. They came forward in the wake of a 2005 "Access Hollywood" tape of Trump released in October 2016 that caught him saying on a hot mic: "And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything ... Grab them by the p****. You can do anything."
But the White House -- through press secretary Sarah Sanders and others -- has dismissed all the allegations against him as old news that had been litigated during the 2016 campaign.
The-CNN-Wire
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