New York Times White House reporter suspended for sexual harassment

It had been a remarkable year for Glenn Thrush. One of the breakout reporters chronicling the 2016 election for Politico, he ascended last December to the White House beat for the New York Times, and later, an MSNBC contract. His anonymously-sourced accounts of West Wing intrigue had earned him and his frequent co-writer Maggie Haberman a plum book deal. His rising visibility in the White House press room even merited a caricature on “Saturday Night Live.”

And then, Thrush was suspended by the Times on Monday – the latest in a series of men in Hollywood and media hit by allegations of sexual misconduct.

Earlier that day, the news site Vox published a story accusing Thrush, 50, of having a “history of bad judgment around young women journalists.” In the article, three women said Thrush had made unwanted contact or advances toward them. One of them was the story’s author herself, Laura McGann, who wrote that Thrush, after a night of drinking with colleagues, put his hand on her thigh and tried kissing her against her wishes. McGann wrote that she interviewed 40 people “in and around media who know Thrush,” and painted the portrait of a powerful media figure who often crossed the line with female reporters in their early 20s.

“The alleged behavior is very concerning and not in keeping with the standards and values of The New York Times,” Eileen Murphy, the senior vice president of communications for the Times, wrote in a statement confirming Thrush had been suspended pending an investigation. She added that he has entered treatment for substance abuse.