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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.
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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
