By James Simons-
Veteran journalist Mark Halperin has been accused of grabbing a womans breast and sexually harassing women when he was in a powerful position at ABC News.
Five women have exposed the former ABC journalist, after they shared their stories with CNN
“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 “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, I’m going to take a step back from my day-to-day work while I properly deal with this situation.”
MSNBC, where Halperin makes frequent appearances on “Morning Joe,” said early Thursday that Halperin would leave his roles at that network and as an analyst at NBC News.
“We find the story and the allegations very troubling,” MSNBC said in a statement. “Mark Halperin is leaving his role as a contributor until the questions around his past conduct are fully understood.”
The accused 52 year old political journalist is wella ccomplished in his field. He was a prominent political journalist at ABC News , and co-authoured the best selling book”, GameChange,” which was made into an HBO movie starring Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin; and anchored a television show on Bloomberg TV. He is featured in Showtime’s “The Circus,” a show that chronicled the 2016 campaign cycle and the early days of the Trump presidency, and has a project in development with HBO, which, like CNN, is owned by Time Warner. Ther allegations against him arte damaging to his reputation, although no criminal prosecutions are yet known to have been undertaken.
The stories of harassment shared with CNN range from the journalist propositioning women for sex, to kissing and grabbing one’s 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 woman’s breasts and pressing his genitals against the three women, but his open apology at least conceeds that he had in the past conducted himself inappropriately to women in a sexual way. If a man asks a woman for sex whom he works with and is also familiar with, there is no harm in that. She is free to decline that offer, only persistence in the same behaviour will legally comprise a form of sexual harassment. Much depends on the circumstances and context of the propositions.
Sexual advances are always wholly inappropriate when a man grabs or touches a woman’s breast without consent when there has never been any sexual relations between them. There is a time and place for everything, and the work environment is not a place where sucvh sexual activities should be taking place anyway. Men who freely touch women on their sexual organs during work are either sexual predators or pathetically stupid. The work environment is meant for professional activities and their diligent pursuits. The many revelations exposing known males in prominent positions is disgraceful, and a call for all men in respectable positions to sit up and ensure they are always behaving.