4:06 PM PDT 4/27/2018
by
Katie Kilkenny
Current and former colleagues of the NBC News special correspondent defended his character in the wake of accusations that he had harassed two women at NBC News in the 1990s.
One day after two women alleged Tom Brokaw sexually harassed them at NBC News in the 1990s, a cadre of female journalists including Rachel Maddow, Andrea Mitchell and Maria Shriver have signed a letter characterizing the veteran journalist as “a man of tremendous decency and integrity.”
In the letter, sent Friday, current and former colleagues of the NBC News special correspondent write that “Tom has treated each of us with fairness and respect. He has given each of us opportunities for advancement and championed our successes throughout our careers.”
The signees, who write that collectively they have worked with Brokaw across four decades, add, “As we have advanced across industries — news, publishing, law, business, government — Tom has been a valued source of counsel and support. We know him to be a man of tremendous decency and integrity.”
Despite its support for the accused journalist, the letter maintains that each of the signees “endorse the conversation around abuse of power in the workplace.”
The missive comes just hours after an email Brokaw sent to a handful of NBC News colleagues, which firmly denies the accusations, leaked to the press.
On Friday, Mika Brzezinski also voiced her support for the journalist, tweeting, “Add me to the list.”
The journalist, who was an anchor at NBC Nightly News when he allegedly subjected two women to unwanted advances, wrote that he was “angry, hurt and unmoored from what I thought would be the final passage of my life and career” and claimed to have been “ambushed” and “perp walked” in headlines.
The accusations first appeared in a Washington Post story on Thursday, in which former NBC correspondent Linda Vester accused Brokaw of inviting himself to her hotel room, asking her to initiate an affair with him and attempting to forcibly kiss her. An anonymous source, who said she was a production assistant in the 1990s, said Brokaw once pulled her into a small enclave, put her hands on his chest and invited her to his office. The story additionally contained new claims about Matt Lauer, the disgraced former co-host of the Today show who was also accused of sexual misconduct.
Read the full letter below.
Subject: Letter on Tom Brokaw
As professional women, we fully endorse the conversation around abuse of power in the workplace. In the context of that conversation, we would like to share our perspectives on working with Tom Brokaw.
We are current and former colleagues of Tom’s, who have worked with him over a period spanning four decades. We are producers, correspondents, anchors, directors, executives, researchers, personal assistants, editors and technical staff.
Tom has treated each of us with fairness and respect. He has given each of us opportunities for advancement and championed our successes throughout our careers. As we have advanced across industries — news, publishing, law, business and government — Tom has been a valued source of counsel and support. We know him to be a man of tremendous decency and integrity.
Signed,
Susanna Aaron
Anne Binford Allen
Heather Allan
Marilyn Altman
Liz Bowyer
Mary Casalino
Christine Colvin Casper
Martha Cotton
Karen Curry
Sara Cusimano
Helene Darvick
Linda Ellman
Judy Farinet
Dianne Festa
Tammy Fine
Mary Laurence Flynn
Susan Friedman
Soraya Gage
Maralyn Gelefsky
Cheryl Gould
Erika Beck Grothues
Colleen Halpin
Jody Henenfeld
Susan Morris Holey
Julie Holstein
Julie Huang
Peggy Hubble
Kiko Itasaka
Nancy Jacoby
Kat Keeney
Ann Kolbell
Audrey Beles Kolina
Susan LaSalla
Rachel Maddow
Donna Mastrangelo-Ryan
Andrea Mitchell
Mauri Moore
Frieda Morris
Elena Nachmanoff
Michele Neubert
Kelly O’Donnell
Bonnie Optekman
Mary Alice O’Rourke
Nancy Doyle Palmer
Polly Powell
Meaghan Rady
Elizabeth Vaughan Romaine
Amy Rosenberg
Stephanie Ruhle
Bita Ryan
Ruby Shamir
Maria Shriver
Robin Skolnick
Andrea Smith
Patricia Sullivan
Clare Duffy Swift
Yuka Tachibana
Bambi Tascarella
Zoya Taylor
Dee Dee Thomas
Anne Thompson
Kelly Venardos
Kristen Welker
Carolyn Wheatley
Mary Wolf
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