Former congressman and financier Harold Ford Jr. was fired by Morgan Stanley after a human resources investigation found he engaged in inappropriate behavior that violated company policy.
Ford held the position of managing director at Morgan Stanley since 2011.
Huffington Post reported that a woman interviewed by Morgan Stanley as part of an in-house investigation determined that Ford grabbed her forcefully during a business meeting in Manhattan several years ago.
The woman, who was not an employee of Morgan Stanley, alleged that Ford continued to harass her and contact her after the encounter until she emailed him and asked him to stop.
In a tweet on Thursday, Ford threatened to sue his accuser.
“In regards to news today, This simply did not happen. I have never forcibly grabbed any woman or man in my life… I support and have tremendous respect for the brave women now speaking out in this important national dialogue. False claims like this though undermine the real silence breakers.”
But the HuffPost writer obtained an email in which the accuser asked Ford to stop contacting her to go out for drinks.
In response to her accusation about his behavior at their last meeting, Ford reportedly said, “Hey very sorry. Meant no harm,” according to HuffPost.
MSNBC, which employed Ford as a political contributor, said Thursday night that Ford is suspended while the company completes its investigation.
The 47-year-old Democrat from Tennessee served as a U.S. Congressman in the United States House of Representatives from 1997-2007. He succeeded his father, former Congressman Harold Ford Sr., who held the same seat for 22 years.
Ford’s firing came on the same day that Minnesota Senator Al Franken promised to resign from the Senate amid misconduct allegations, and Arizona Republican Rep. Trent Franks stepped down after admitting he discussed surrogacy with two female associates.
