Mark Halperin Now Faces a Dozen Sexual Harassment Accusers

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Bloomberg Politics managing editor Mark Halperin from the Showtime political series The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth. – Photo: Brigitte Lacombe/Courtesy of SHOWTIME – Photo ID: TheCircus_halperin_02.R

(NEWSER) – CNN reported Friday that four more women have leveled allegations of sexual harassment against journalist Mark Halperin. The news channel said that one woman claimed Halperin masturbated in her presence after she went to his ABC News office to seek advice from him about her career at the news division, where she was a desk assistant.

CNN said a second woman alleged that the Game Change co-author threw her against a restaurant window and threatened to derail her career after she rebuffed his attempt to kiss her. The woman, who told CNN she met Halperin when she was interning at the White House, said he called her shortly after the encounter and warned that she’d never be hired in media or politics.

The four women, who were not identified in the CNN report, said the encounters took place between the late 1980s and 2006, during which time Halperin worked at ABC News in influential positions including political director.

CNN said that Halperin denied that he masturbated in front of anyone or physically assaulted or threatened anyone. The latest allegations bring the number of women accusing him of sexual misconduct to about 12. Halperin issued a lengthy apology on Twitter, the AP reports. He said he was “profoundly sorry for the pain and anguish I have caused by my past actions. … The world is now publicly acknowledging what so many women have long known: Men harm women in the workplace. … For a long time at ABC News, I was part of the problem. I acknowledge that, and I deeply regret it.”

But counseling he sought after leaving the network changed his behavior, he said. The journalist has been suspended from his role as a MSNBC contributor, while a follow-up to 2010’s Game Change was canceled by Penguin Press and HBO dropped plans for a miniseries based on the book about the 2016 election.