Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak gave Harvey Weinstein information that facilitated his hiring of an Israeli firm to investigate several women accusing him of sexual assault and the journalists working on the stories, Israel's Channel 2 reported on Tuesday.

The New Yorker's Ronan Farrow reported Monday that among a number of firms hired by Weinstein was the Israeli firm Black Cube, whose employees are self-advertised as "highly experienced and trained in Israel’s elite military and governmental intelligence units." According to the contract, signed in July, Weinstein explicitly hired Black Cube to prevent the New York Times and the New Yorker's original reporting on Weinstein, as well as actress Rose McGowan's book detailing his alleged abuse.