NEW YORK — A prominent New York Times reporter covering the White House has been suspended from the paper amid an inquiry into allegations he acted inappropriately with young female journalists.
Glenn Thrush – who is so well known he was portrayed several times on “Saturday Night Live” – plans to enter substance abuse treatment following the revelations, The Times reported Monday.
The announcement came after Vox published an article written by Laura McGann, a former editor at Politico, where Thrush also worked, reporting that the newsman was known in Washington, D.C., journalism circles as a hard drinker who could be aggressive with young women at parties.
McGann wrote that Thrush put his hand on her thigh and began kissing her five years ago – an unwanted encounter that she suspected Thrush then spun to diminish her standing in the newsroom.
Vox reported that three young women reported similar experiences.
In June, Thrush – who wrote numerous stories chronicling the palace intrigue of President Trump’s White House ˆ reportedly left a 23-year-old journalist in tears after she resisted his advances.
The young reporter’s friend texted Thrush the next day.
“I want to make sure you don’t lure young women aspiring journalists into those situations ever again,” the friend, Bianca Padro Ocasio, wrote in a text published by Vox. Padro Ocasio is also a journalist.
In the texts, Thrush was apologetic and said he’d gotten drunk because of bad “health news.”
“I don’t lure anybody ever,” Thrush also texted, according to images published on Vox.
Thrush said in a statement that the June incident was the last time he’d had a drink and that he was “working hard to repair the damage I have done.”
“I have never offered mentorship or reporting advice to anyone, man or woman, with an expectation of anything in return. To assert otherwise is false,” Thrush said.
He said he did not disparage McGann to colleagues and that brief encounter between them was consensual.
“The behavior attributed to Glenn in this Vox story is very concerning and not in keeping with the standards and values of The New York Times,” The Times said in a statement. “We intend to fully investigate and while we do, Glenn will be suspended.”
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