"Morning Joe" co-host Mika Brzezinski on Thursday briefly addressed the new report of sexual harassment allegations against Mark Halperin, an NBC political analyst and frequent guest on the show.
Halperin is accused by several women of sexual harassment while he was political director at ABC News in a new CNN story, ranging from propositioning junior staffers to groping and pressing an erection against women while clothed.
He issued a statement apologizing for any "inappropriate" behavior and said he would step back from his work to "properly deal with this situation."
"Now to a story that broke overnight involving someone you see around this table every day," Brzezinski said in a clip flagged by Mediaite. "CNN is reporting allegations regarding our friend Mark Halperin during his time at ABC News over a decade ago. Unnamed sources detailing unwanted advances and inappropriate behavior."
"Halperin apologized for the pain his actions caused and said, quote, 'I will take a step pack from my day-to-day work while I properly address the situation,'" she added. "We are going to be following this story as it develops. I’m sure we'll be talking about it again when we know more about it."
He did deny charges in the story that he pressed his erection while clothed against women or that he ever grabbed a woman's breasts without permission. Halperin began at ABC News in the late 1980s and became its political director in 1997.
He joined Time in 2007 and became known for his bestselling book on the 2008 election, Game Change, which he co-wrote with John Heilemann.
Halperin was on "Morning Joe" as recently as Tuesday.