About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 2018)
NATION/WORLD The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Friday, December 21,2018 5A Judge won’t dismiss Weinstein’s sex assault case ALEC TABAKI Associated Press Harvey Weinstein, center, and his attorney Ben Brafman, right, make an appearance in court at New York Supreme Court, Thursday, Dec. 20, in New York. BY MICHAEL R. SISAK AND JIM MUSTIAN Associated Press NEW YORK —A New York judge declined to dismiss sexual assault charges against Harvey Weinstein Thursday, rejecting the disgraced Hollywood titan’s fierce push to have his indictment thrown out. Judge James Burke’s rul ing buoyed a prosecution that appeared on rocky ground in recent months amid a prolonged defense effort to raise doubts about the case and the police investigation. It was also welcome news for the #MeToo movement, which took off last year after numerous women accused Weinstein of wrongdoing. About a half-dozen women, includ ing actress Marisa Tomei, showed up to court wearing t-shirts from the anti-abuse organization Time’s Up. Weinstein’s lawyers argued the case had been “irreparably tainted” by a detective’s alleged coaching of a potential witness and one of the accusers. They also said the grand jury that indicted Weinstein should have been shown friendly emails he exchanged with his two accusers after the alleged attacks. But Burke ruled that Weinstein’s prosecutorial misconduct claims had “no basis” and that prosecu tors were under no obligation to give the grand jury evidence favor able to the defense. He denied Weinstein’s demand for a hearing to examine the police investigation and rebuked his lawyers for what he said were “speculative” claims that political pressure had led to the charges. “This court has found the grand jury presentation to be legally suf ficient to support the charges and that the proceedings were prop erly conducted,” Burke wrote in a six-page opinion detailing his deci sion. “Dismissal is an exceptional remedy and only available in rare cases.” Weinstein, 66, has denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex. He is free on $1 million bail and left court without commenting. His next court appearance is sched uled for March 7. Weinstein’s lawyer Benjamin Brafman said he was disappointed with the ruling but remains con fident the former film producer will be “completely exoner ated” at trial, which has not been scheduled. “We intend to continue to vigor ously defend this case to the best of our ability,” Brafman told report ers after the hearing. He said that Burke’s ruling “does not in any way suggest that the case against Mr. Weinstein is going to end badly.” The Manhattan District Attor ney’s office declined to comment. Weinstein is charged with raping an unidentified female acquain tance in a hotel room in 2013 and performing a forcible sex act on a different woman in 2006. That woman’s lawyer, Gloria Allred, lauded Burke’s ruling, telling reporters afterward: “Mr. Wein stein shout have his day in court but so should the two women who are alleged to be the victims.” The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission. Images of Weinstein in hand cuffs last spring were seen by many women as a cathartic moment in the #MeToo reckoning, but the case against him appeared to wobble in recent months with allegations of police misconduct and the defense’s contention that they had evidence showing Wein stein’s relationships with his accus ers were consensual. Prosecutors dropped part of the case in October — an alle gation that Weinstein forced an aspiring actress to perform oral sex — when evidence surfaced that Detective Nicholas DiGaudio instructed one potential witness to keep doubts about the veracity of the allegations to herself. But Burke noted in his ruling that the charge was dismissed because prosecutors determined they may not have been able to prove it, not because they thought she lied. With the rest of the case up in the air, Thursday’s hearing attracted extra attention. Dozens of report ers squeezed into the courtroom alongside Tomei, actress Amber Tamblyn and other celebrities there to support the accusers, while TV cameras filled the side walk outside. “Today, here in New York, we saw the first steps towards jus tice,” Time’s Up President Lisa Borders said after the judge’s rul ing. “Frankly, we are relieved that Harvey Weinstein failed in his efforts to avoid accountability for his actions.” US charges two Chinese agents in China cyber espionage case BY MICHAEL BALSAM0 AND ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON — US. officials say two Chinese citi zens acting on behalf of their country’s main intelligence agency carried out an exten sive hacking campaign to steal data from military ser vice members, government agencies and private compa nies in the United States and nearly a dozen other nations. It was the latest in a series of Justice Department indict ments targeting cyberespio nage from Beijing. The two are accused of breaching computer net works in a broad swath of industries, including avia tion and space, banking and finance, oil and gas explo ration and pharmaceutical technology. Prosecutors say they also compromised the names, Social Security numbers and other personal information of more than 100,000 Navy personnel. All told, prosecutors say, the alleged hackers — iden tified as Zhu Hua and Zhang Shillong — stole “hundreds of gigabytes” of data, breach ing computers of more than 45 entities in 12 states. They are not in custody. U.S. law enforcement officials described the case as part of a trend of state- sponsored hackers breaking into American networks and stealing trade secrets and confidential and valuable information. More than 90 percent of Justice Depart ment economic espionage cases over the last seven years involve China, said Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and more than two-thirds of trade MANUEL BALCE CENETAI Associated Press U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman from the Southern District of N.Y., center, with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, right, and FBI Director Christopher Wray, speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 20. secrets cases are connected to the country. “China’s state-sponsored actors are the most active perpetrators of economic espionage,” FBI Director Chris Wray said Thursday in announcing the case. “While we welcome fair competi tion, we cannot and will not tolerate illegal hacking, stealing or cheating.” Last week, officials from the Justice Department, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security testified to the Senate Judiciary Com mittee that China is working to steal trade secrets and intellectual property from U.S. companies in order to harm America’s economy and further its own devel opment. Those efforts have continued even after Beijing committed in 2015 to halt ing the theft of trade secrets following a first-of-its-kind indictment that accused Chinese hackers of stealing corporate data from brand- name U.S. companies. “We want China to cease illegal cyber activities and honor its commitment to the international community, but the evidence suggests that China may not intend to live up to its promises,” Rosenstein said. In recent months, the Jus tice Department has filed separate cases against sev eral Chinese intelligence officials and hackers. A case filed in October marked the first time that a Chinese Min istry of State Security officer was extradited to the United States to stand trial. Chinese espionage efforts have become “the most severe counterintelligence threat facing our country today,” Bill Priestap, the assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, told the Senate committee. Putin issues warning on rising nuclear war threat BY VLADIMIR ISACHENK0V Associated Press MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a chilling warning Thursday about the ris ing threat of a nuclear war, putting the blame squarely on the U.S., which he accused of irre sponsibly pulling out of arms control treaties. Speaking at his annual news conference, Putin warned that “it could lead to the destruction of civilization as a whole and maybe even our planet.” He pointed at Wash ington’s intention to walk away from the 1987 Inter mediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, or INF, and its reluctance to negotiate the extension of the 2010 New START agreement, which expires in 2021 unless the two countries agree to extend it. “We are witnessing the breakup of the arms control sys tem,” he said. Moscow and Wash ington have been at log gerheads over the INF, which bans an entire class of weapons — all nuclear and conven tional ground-launched ballistic and cruise mis siles of intermediate range. U.S. officials say Washington’s withdrawal from the pact was prompted by Russian violations of the treaty, which Moscow vehe mently denies. Earlier this month NATO, at U.S. request formally declared Russia to be in violation of the INF and demanded that it halt activ ity that breaches it. The move put the full weight of the alliance behind the U.S., which has given Russia until February to come into com pliance or trigger Washing ton’s withdrawal from the treaty.” Officials in both Russia and the U.S. have given mixed signals about the future of the New START treaty, signed by President Barack Obama and then- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev amid a brief thaw in Russia-U.S. ties. U.S.- Russian strategic nuclear weapons — those capable of striking each other’s terri tory — are governed by New Start. During the nearly four- hour news conference, Putin maintained Russia was not interested in “gaining unilateral advantages. We aren’t seeking advantages, we are trying to preserve the balance and ensure our security.” Russia-U.S. ties have sunk to their lowest levels since the Cold war times over the Ukrainian crisis, the war in Syria and the allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential elec tion, among other disputes. abersham treat 'Assisted Care Community Now Offers a New Assisted Living Home Located <8> 258 Park Ave Baldwin GA The uite Life Come by for a visit. Prebook one of our new rooms that you can make your very own. www.habershamretreat.com Call us @ 706-499-6842 Auto Insurance Specialist • Easy Payments • Any Driver • Any Age NEW LOCATION! 2415 OLD CORNELIA HWY., GAINESVILLE Next to Rabbittown Cafe 770-450-4500 City of Lula Annual Report 2018 FISCAL YEAR Report on Projects Funded Through Special Local Options Sales Tax (as required by O.C.G.A. §48-8-122) Project* As Approved" Original Estimated Costs. Current Estimated Cost' Prior expended Current Total Amount' Expended Excess Proceeds Project Behind Schedule Project. Under funded Year Water, Sewer, SPLOST VII $1,000,000 $1,300,000 $232,505 0 $232,505 NO NO NO Park & Streetscape SPLOST VII $300,000 $300,000 $161,667 0 $161,667 NO NO NO Roads SPLOST VII $600,000 $600,000 0 $156,852 $156,852 NO NO NO Total Lula SPLOST VII $1,900,000 $1,900,000 $394,172 $156,852 $551,024 NO NO NO CITY OF GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA FY201S REPORT ON PROJECTS FUNDED THROUGH SPECIAL PURPOSE LOCAL OPTION SALES TAX (K nqulnd by O.C.BA. U84-122) Project Year Approved Original Estimated Cost (1) Current Estimated Costd) SPLOST Collections Yearl Amount Expended Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Amount Expended Current Year Total Amount Expended to Date Project Completec This Year Projected I Completion Date Project Behind Project Schedule Underfunded? Excess Proceeds SPLOST VII Public Safety Fire Station 2016 $ 4,000,000 $ 4,000,000 s 3,750,000 $ 5,900 $ 7,797 $ 560,628 S 560.528 $ 574,225 NO 6/30/2020 NO NO $ 3,175,775 Public Safety Fire Vehicle 2016 6 1,500,000 S 1,500,000 s 1,500,000 $ 384,661 S 956,318 120,240 S 120,240 $ 1,461,219 YES 6/30/2018 NO NO $ 38.781 Roads, Bndges, & Stormwater 2016 6 12,914,482 $ 12.914,482 s 6.375,000 I 89,519 $1,398,278 1,157,625 $ 1,157,625 $ 2,645,422 NO 6/30/2021 NO NO $ 3,729,578 Youth Sports Athletic Complex 2016 6 6,750,000 s 6,750,000 s 3,448,376 I - $ 114,441 54,619 s 54,619 $ 169,060 NO 6/30/2020 NO NO $ 3,279,316 Park Improvements 2016 S 250,000 s 250,000 $ I - $ s $ NO 6/30/2021 NO NO $ Total SPLOST VII $ 25,414,482 $ 25,414,482 s 15,073,376 ( 480,080 $2,476,834 $1,893,012 $ - $ $ 1,893,012 $ 4,849,926 $ 10,223,450 Please contact Jeremy Perry. Chief Financial Officer, at 770-535-6898. with questions concerning this report
