Former
Democratic Congressman Harold Ford Jr. has been fired for misconduct by
Morgan Stanley after facing a human resources investigation into
allegations of misconduct, a company spokeswoman confirmed.
“He
has been terminated for conduct inconsistent with our values and in
violation of our policies,” a spokeswoman for Morgan Stanley told
HuffPost in an email.
At
least one woman, who is not a Morgan Stanley employee but interacted
with Ford in a professional capacity, was interviewed by Morgan
Stanley’s HR department as part of the investigation.
In
two interviews with HuffPost, the woman alleged that Ford engaged in
harassment, intimidation, and forcibly grabbed her one evening in
Manhattan, leading her to seek aid from a building security guard. The
incident took place several years ago when Ford and the woman were
supposed to be meeting for professional reasons. Ford continued to
contact her after the encounter until she wrote an email asking him to
cease contact.
The
email, which was reviewed by HuffPost, shows that the woman emailed
Ford after he repeatedly asked her to drinks. She asked him not to
contact her anymore, citing his inappropriate conduct the evening where
he forcibly grabbed and harassed her.
Ford
replied to the email by apologizing and agreeing not to contact
her. “Hey very sorry. Meant no harm,” the email reads. “And I apologize
for whatever I may have said or what was said. And my overtures are
strictly professional. Again I apologize didn’t mean to be inappropriate
at all. Sorry that impression was left.”
HuffPost
is not identifying the woman at her request but has reviewed emails
that confirm her interactions with Ford and spoke to two people whom the
woman confided in about the incident. One woman heard from Ford’s
accuser the night of the incident and described her as “distraught,
shocked, and frightened,” and said that she was concerned about any
career ramifications should she report the incident.
In
a statement provided to HuffPost, Ford denied the allegations: “This
simply did not happen. I have never forcibly grabbed any woman or man in
my life. Having drinks and dinner for work is part of my job, and all
of my outreach to the news reporter making these false allegations was
professional and at the direction of my firm for business purposes. I
support and have tremendous respect for the brave women now speaking out
in this important national dialogue. False claims like this undermine
the real silence breakers. I will now be bringing legal action against
the reporter who has made these false claims about me as well as Morgan
Stanley for improper termination.”
Ford
comes from a prominent political family in Tennessee. His father,
Harold Ford Sr., held a congressional seat for 12 terms before retiring,
leaving his son to run for the seat, a race which he won handily. Ford
served in the House for nearly 10 years before deciding to run for the
U.S. Senate seat vacated by Republican Bill Frist. Ford lost that hotly
contested 2006 race by fewer than three points to current Republican
Sen. Bob Corker.
Since
leaving Congress in 2007, Ford has worked for two financial services
companies, first for Merrill Lynch and then Morgan Stanley, which he
joined in 2011 as a managing director.
At the time Morgan Stanley announced the hire, The New York Times described
Ford’s role as a rainmaker of sorts: “Mr. Ford will be responsible for
‘building business opportunities’ for clients, Morgan Stanley said. He
will manage relationships with corporate directors, senior executives
and institutional investors, as well as private clients.”
Ford also serves as a paid on-air political analyst for NBC/MSNBC and regularly appears on the MSNBC program “Morning Joe.”
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