MEMPHIS, Tenn. —News of sexual harassment allegations making headlines last month, with popular former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr. at the center.
Morgan Stanley fired Ford.
At the time Ford denied the allegations a month later that remains the same.
Tweeting on Friday, “ I am gratified to learn that Morgan Stanley now acknowledges what I always knew, that I did not engage in any acts of sexual harassment.”
Going on to say he can now look to rebuild but the damage to my family has been extraordinary.
In the tweet he said he supports the brave women of the MeToo movement and that he believes that we as a society need to find new ways to address false claims. He said there must be process and justice.
A New York Times article this week tackles the issue, saying Morgan Stanley received a tip reporters were asking about allegations of Ford harassing a female journalist several years ago.
The article says Morgan Stanley conducted an investigation, concluding it was a he-said, she-said situation and didn’t find proof of harassment.
The firing—the Times reports is based on who you ask.
Morgan Stanley officials citing the national outcry over sexual harassment, the bank executives finding evidence Ford had misled them and the Times reports they say Ford already had received a final written warning about his conduct and abusing his expense account.
On the other hand, Ford and his attorney say Morgan Stanley used the allegations to fire him because he was disliked.
Morgan Stanley telling WREG at the time the allegations were brought to the forefront, he was terminated “for conduct inconsistent with our values and in violation of our policies.”
“ As the article clearly states he was skating on thin ice for quite awhile, he had fell out of favor with people at Morgan Stanley and honestly speaking allegations of sexual behavior might’ve been a pretext to let him go when they did,” Otis Sanford, WREG commentator, said.
Ford has threatened legal action.
The Times reports his lawyers are negotiating with Morgan Stanley.
We sat down with Memphis attorney Rob Ratton on the issue.
“People ask me all the time, ‘Can we sue them?’ I mean technically you can but what’s it worth to you? You’re going to spend a bunch of money and if you lose you’ve almost won the argument for them,” Ratton said.
A request for comment from Ford on Friday has not been returned.
Morgan Stanley sent us a statement saying, “We are declining to comment on this matter, and have not made any public comment on it since December 7th.”
NOTE: Ford’s tweets came from an unverified Twitter account.