It didnt take long for NBC News to react to a CNN exposé by Oliver Darcy on its top on-air political analyst. Five women have accused Mark Halperin of unwanted sexual advances, including groping, during his tenure as ABC News political director. Halperin admitted on the record of pursuing inappropriate romantic relationships with subordinates, but denies assaulting anyone:
During this period, I did pursue relationships with women that I worked with, including some junior to me, Halperin said in a statement to CNN Wednesday night. I now understand from these accounts that my behavior was inappropriate and caused others pain. For that, I am deeply sorry and I apologize. Under the circumstances, Im going to take a step back from my day-to-day work while I properly deal with this situation.
The stories of harassment shared with CNN range in nature from propositioning employees for sex to kissing and grabbing ones breasts against her will. Three of the women who spoke to CNN described Halperin as, without consent, pressing an erection against their bodies while he was clothed. Halperin denies grabbing a womans breasts and pressing his genitals against the three women.
The women who worked with Halperin and who spoke with CNN did not report to Halperin. However, Halperin made many decisions about political coverage at ABC News, and had a voice in some critical personnel decisions. None of the women have said, though, that he ever promised anything in exchange for sex, or suggested that he would retaliate against anyone.
The stories share some elements, suggesting a pattern of behavior. Darcy reports that his first source reported Halperins behavior to a mentor at ABC News, which apparently resulted in no action. ABC News will have a lot of explaining to do about that. The other four women told friends about the harassment contemporaneously, which confirmed those stories in whole or part to CNN. That sounds like another high-profile case in the news lately, even if the acts alleged do not approach the same level of egregiousness as Harvey Weinsteins.
There is one other point of commonality none of the women worked with Halperin at NBC, where hes worked since 2010. His network isnt waiting around for women in its own organization to start coming forward, however. Halperin told CNN that he would step back from his public duties to properly deal with this burgeoning scandal, but NBC made it sound less than voluntary:
Halperin has other gigs, too. He is one of the central figures on Showtimes The Circus, and he has been a board member on the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire for almost a decade. Presumably Halperin will take a voluntary break from all of the above, but it remains to be seen whether that will remain voluntary.
Now that hes out at NBC temporarily, at least any potential victims now have a window of opportunity to emerge. The dynamics of harassment scandals has become all too familiar in that sense; once a few victims come forward and the alleged harasser has been put on public notice, suddenly more women feel empowered to tell their stories. It would be strange, although not impossible, to have had that pattern of Halperins behavior at ABC News and then suddenly stop seven years ago.
The pattern of reporting will pick up speed, too. These scandals have been exposed by eager reporters who have diligently and carefully pieced together sources and corroboration before publication, and there are an almost endless supply of such reporters looking for a chance at a national story. No media outlet, no industry can assume it will be immune from scrutiny. However, reporters had better make sure to be as careful and thorough with future exposés, and consumers of these reports should keep a sharp eye on those qualities in the feeding frenzies to come.
Update: Mika Brzezinski provided a short statement on Morning Joe, one of Halperins main gigs for NBC (via Instapundit):
MSNBCs Morning Joe paused Thursday morning to address a potentially awkward situation: Mark Halperin, the well-known political reporter and frequent contributor to the morning program, has been accused of sexual harassment by five women in a report posted Wednesday night by CNN.
Now to a story that broke overnight involving someone you see around this table every day. CNN is reporting allegations regarding our friend Mark Halperin during his time at ABC News over a decade ago, unnamed sources detailing unwanted advances and inappropriate behavior. Halperin apologized for the pain his actions caused and said I will take a step pack from my day-to-day work while I properly address the situation., said co-host Mika Brzezinski, facing the camera. We are going to be following this story as it develops Im sure we are going to be talking about it again when we know more about it. She did not address whether NBC News had taken any action regarding Halperins status as a contributor to the program.
Meanwhile, Emily Miller has added a #MeToo to the Halperin story:
Go back and watch the episode I was on of Morning Joe. This will explain why so many of you asked why he attacked me on live TV
We are going to be following this story as it develops Im sure we are going to be talking about it again when we know more about it hell freezes over.
Naw, the news bitches got Ailes and O'Reilly, then the Hollyweird bitches took down Weinstein and are on the warpath, now they're after the pedophile Nickelodeon guy so the remaining news bitches figure they'd better strike while the iron is hot.
Getting rid of these guys in the news racket is a good way for various Womyn to get promoted. Someone will take Halperin's place. Bet it's a Womyn.
They are still talking about it. Apparently, he liked to sneak up on women and run a boner on them. And today another salacious story.
I sat in a chair across from him, she told CNN. He was behind a wooden desk so I couldnt see him from the waist down. As we had our conversation about my career he was masturbating. There was no question about it.
I pretended like I didnt know what was going on and we talked a bit more and then he abruptly wrapped up the conversation, she continued.
The woman told CNN it was clear what Halperin was doing. There was an up and down motion, she said.
I dont know if he made any sound at the end or how it was clear to me that he had climaxed, she said. But it was clear that he was satisfied like he stopped making that motion and stopped staring at me.
For his part, Halperin has been admirably consistent on sexual assault in the past:
As I have said 2x on @morning_joe today, Rep Akin's remarks are outrageous & should be denounced by all. Sexual assault is a serious matter Mark Halperin (@MarkHalperin) August 20, 2012
When people say some new Trump tape could have material that is WORSE than the @accesshollywood video, what exactly could be WORSE?!? Mark Halperin (@MarkHalperin) October 9, 2016
Well, Mark, several women say you attacked them. One says you grabbed her breast, another says you rubbed your erection up on her.
What could be worse? How about a hypocrite like Halperin rubbing his boner on interns, jerking off under his desk while creep-staring a woman in his office. And it is matter of days until he is accused of trying to rape one of his co-workers. She's been hinting and she's just waiting to strike.
F-ck this creep and all the people who covered up for him. He's as bad as Weinstein. And everyone knew.