As if the general public needed any more reason to be skeptical of internal investigations by major companies.
NBC quietly released the results of its internal investigation into Matt Lauer on Wednesday, and the media giant’s findings may come as a surprise to most. Or not.
According to the report, NBC received exactly zero complaints about Lauer prior to November, when allegations of his misconduct began to publicly surface. (RELATED: Remembering Matt Lauer, Liberal Defender of Women [VIDEO])
It states that NBC found no “contrary evidence” that Lauer had been misbehaving prior to Nov. 27, 2017, only 48 hours before Matt Lauer was fired by NBC.
“We were also unable to establish that any of those interviewed, including NBC News and Today Show leadership, News HR and others in positions of authority in the News Division, knew that Lauer had engaged in sexual activity with other employees,” the report, obtained by the Hollywood Reporter, continues. “Every such individual credibly responded that they had no such knowledge. Most witnesses interviewed stated that they had heard or read rumors about Lauer’s personal life, including tabloid stories about the troubled state of his marriage and the possibility of extramarital affairs, but those witnesses believed, with limited exceptions, that the rumored extramarital affairs were with women outside of the Company.”
NBC does not explain how it defines “credible responses,” or whether those “limited exceptions” were of importance to the investigation. There’s absolutely zero way to determine what the “exceptions” may have been, because the entire investigation was done internally with no oversight. Not one outside investigator was hired to look into the case.
The entire investigation into Lauer was led by general counsel Kim Harris, who directly reports to NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke. Before working for NBC, Harris enjoyed a stint working for the Obama Administration. (RELATED: NBC, MSNBC Snub Ronan Farrow [VIDEO])
It’s important to note that Ann Curry, Lauer’s former cohost and one of his most public critics, claims that one of Lauer’s victims confided in her after an alleged sexual harassment incident with the anchor at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Curry claims she alerted management and urged them to be vigilant of Lauer’s behavior going forward. Which is certainly a little earlier than November 27, 2017. But you know. Details.
During the deluge of sexual misconduct allegations at NBC, one source criticized the company’s mishandling of Chris Matthews’ case. Speaking to The Daily Caller, they said, “Their common first instinct is to protect the talent, no matter what the complaint, and then turn the victim into the problem,” the producer insisted. “When he turns on you, look out. All they do is protect him. All they do is protect him from himself.” (RELATED: Sources: Chris Matthews Runs An Abusive Work Environment)
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