New York Times political reporter Glenn Thrush will remain suspended until the end of January and will not return to cover the White House, following allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior.
The paper’s announcement came after after Vox reported last month that "several women," including Laura McGann, who was a former colleague of Thrush's at Politico and wrote the report, received unwanted advances from Thrush.
Once the New York Times learned Vox was planning to run the article, published on Nov. 20, the paper launched an investigation regarding Thrush’s behavior.
Charlotte Behrendt, a lawyer in the New York Times newsroom, spearheaded the investigation, and conducted interviews with over 30 people in New York and Washington, D.C. Behrendt presented her finding to Dean Baquet, the executive editor, along with other top editors.
Once the investigation concluded, Baquet said Thrush had “behaved in ways that we do not condone.”
“While we believe that Glenn has acted offensively, we have decided that he does not deserve to be fired,” Baquet said.
He also added Thrush is undergoing counseling and substance abuse rehabilitation independently and that he would undergo training “to improve his workplace conduct.”
“We understand that our colleagues and the public at large are grappling with what constitutes sexually offensive behavior in the workplace and what consequences are appropriate,” Baquet added. “Each case has to be evaluated based on individual circumstances. We believe this is an appropriate response to Glenn’s situation.”
In the Vox report published in November, four women accused Thrush of engaging in unwanted kissing and touching. McGann was the only one who was identified by name.
"If Thrush is acutely aware of what young women face in the business of political journalism, he should also know it’s because he himself is one of the problems women face," McGann wrote in the report. "Five years ago, when Thrush and I were colleagues at Politico, I was in the same bar as [reporter] Padró Ocasio’s friend [who also accused Thrush of inappropriate behavior] — perhaps the same booth — when he caught me off guard, put his hand on my thigh, and suddenly started kissing me. Thrush says that he recalls the incident differently."
In response, Thrush apologized for his behavior after the initial report was published.
"I apologize to any woman who felt uncomfortable in my presence, and for any situation where I behaved inappropriately,” Thrush said in a statement to McGann. "Any behavior that makes a woman feel disrespected or uncomfortable is unacceptable."
Thrush was first suspended without pay after the Vox report emerged. It is unclear what Thrush will cover once he returns to the New York Times.
