Three Democratic presidential candidates are calling for an outside investigation into the culture of NBC News in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations by company leadership.
Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts plan on sending a letter to Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez on Tuesday, a day before the party hosts its fifth presidential debate on MSNBC, according to the Huffington Post. The letter was coordinated by the women’s group UltraViolet, who previously called for the DNC to pull MSNBC’s sponsorship because “NBC’s current leadership is either unable or unwilling to take appropriate steps to combat the culture of sexual abuse at the networks.”
The letter, which called the reports of a cover-up “deeply troubling,” goes on to say, “We, the undersigned candidates, are very concerned about the message it would send to sexual assault survivors if our next debate is sponsored by MSNBC without clear commitments from Comcast, the parent company of NBC and MSNBC, to conduct an independent investigation into the toxic culture that enabled abusers and silenced survivors.”
It goes on to state that “there is something clearly wrong with a work environment reluctant to hold management accountable,” and claimed, “that’s what allowed the behavior of powerful abusers inside the company to go unchecked” despite the internal investigation that took place a year ago.
The letter was spurred by Ronan Farrow’s recent book Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators, which reported on numerous instances in which network executives either acted inappropriately or covered for someone who did. He detailed the lengths network executives went to in order to not run his reporting about ex-Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, their actions following a rape allegation against Matt Lauer from a subordinate, and how Weinstein allegedly tried to extort the network into hiding his own sexual misconduct allegations.
The senators’ letter also pointed out that Trump “has been credibly accused of sexual harassment and sexual abuse by dozens of women” and added that it’s important for the Democratic Party to differentiate themselves from the Republican Party on the issue.
