Bernie Sanders says he was unaware of sexual harassment during 2016 campaign

On Anderson Cooper 360, Sen. Bernie Sanders responded to allegations of sexual harassment and pay disparity in his 2016 presidential campaign. Sanders said he was unaware of the allegations at the time, citing the speed at which his campaign and the number of people working for it grew. He told Cooper that the organization went from just a handful of paid employees to roughly 1,200 in a matter of a few months, and he admitted that not everything was handled properly.

“I am not going to sit here and tell you that we did everything right in terms of human resources, in terms of addressing the needs that I’m hearing from now that women felt disrespected, that there was sexual harassment which was not dealt with as effectively as possible,” Sanders said.

A group of former campaign staffers sent a letter requesting a meeting with Sanders to discuss what they called an “untenable” and “dangerous” dynamic that developed during the campaign and how to avoid it in the future. Sanders said he had implemented policies for his 2018 Senate re-election campaign that were not in place in 2016 — polices he will maintain if he makes a presidential run in 2020.

“We put forward the strongest set of principles in terms of mandatory training, in terms of women, if they felt harassed, having an independent firm that they can go to. And I think that’s kind of the gold standard for what we should be doing,” Sanders said. “I certainly apologize to any woman who felt like she was not treated appropriately, and of course if I run, we will do better next time.”

Anderson Cooper 360 airs weeknights at 8 on CNN.

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