Squarely in the middle of that question is Michael Aiello, who leads the corporate department at the law firm Weil Gotshal & Manges. Mr. Aiello advised CBS’s independent directors amid those investigations. And, at the request of two members of the board’s nominating and governance committee, questioned Mr. Moonves by telephone in January about whether he, and therefore the company, had a #MeToo problem.

A lawyer for Mr. Moonves and other Weil Gotshal lawyers representing the board members were listening to that interview and taking notes. According to the four people, both sets of notes say Mr. Moonves disclosed that a police complaint had been filed against him last year by a woman who said he had sexually assaulted her. (The police complaint was pending when Mr. Aiello interviewed Mr. Moonves, but it was later dropped because the statute of limitations had expired.)

Mr. Moonves also told Mr. Aiello that an actress’s manager had privately contacted Mr. Moonves and had accused him of sexually assaulting the actress, the four people said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing the active legal matter.

Mr. Aiello did not ask Mr. Moonves the names of the woman who filed the complaint or the actress, the people said.

After the interview, Mr. Aiello briefed board members on it. The four directors or their representatives told me that Mr. Aiello assured them that although there had been some “rebuffed advances” toward women by Mr. Moonves in the distant past, CBS and the board had nothing to worry about.

Mr. Aiello did not mention the police complaint or the actress, the directors and their representatives said.

Mr. Aiello’s failure to mention either matter to his client — CBS’s nominating and governance committee — is perplexing, especially because he continued to advise the independent directors separately about whether to file a contentious lawsuit seeking to dilute Shari Redstone’s controlling interest in CBS. The suit was filed in May, and directors told me that, had they known then about the sexual harassment issues involving Mr. Moonves, they would not have gone forward with it.