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Senator Feinstein Didn't Know She Received Donations From Harvey Weinstein, Will "Take A Look" Into Returning Them
Senator Feinstein in March 2017. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Senator Dianne Feinstein was on Meet the Press with Chuck Todd Sunday morning to talk about the second amendment and gun legislation, but Todd also asked about another important topic: what to do about donations received from Harvey Weinstein, now that his history of sexual abuse allegations have come to light. Feinstein, who prefaced her answer with "I don't know that I've received any," said she'll "certainly take a look and then I'll make a decision."
Todd pointed out to Feinstein "they found some about 20, 20-odd years ago on that front." Those donations were for $375 in 1992 and $1,000 in 1994, according to the L.A. Times. In response, Feinstein said,
I mean, anytime somebody does something wrong, and he's done mighty wrong, and no one has ever questioned where I stand on any of this stuff, 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."
Before asking the question, Todd referenced the California Republican Party's criticism of accepting donations from Weinstein. "If Democrats and the [Democratic National Committee] truly stand up for women like they say they do, then returning this dirty money should be a no brainer," RNC Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel said in a statement Thursday.
Many Democratic politicians have been doing exactly that, including California Senator Kamala Harris, who plans to donate $5,000 of donations from Weinstein to Equal Rights Advocates, according to the L.A. Times. Former Senator Barbara Boxer has also returned $1,000 worth of donations, according to the Times.
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