Forget the Steele Dossier – Now There’s a Bloomberg Dossier & It’s Devastating

Other fun allegations in the dossier include one where Bloomberg told another employee, “Don’t let the lesbian get you down!” The “lesbian” referred to another powerful female employee.

Then there was the case of Washington editor Al Hunt, whose name was frequently mentioned in the article.

“Hunt’s alleged sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior was the subject of several human resource complaints and at least two financial settlements, sources said,” according to the Daily Mail.

“During his time at Bloomberg News, Hunt is said to have created a reputation among employees for a quick temper and giving women massages without asking first.

“A source said that he would often walk up behind a female colleague seated at her desk and, without warning, begin rubbing her shoulders.”

“I remember seeing his hands move pretty rapidly between her shoulders and her arms. His hands were all over her,” a former employee said, according to the Daily Mail.

Another anecdote about Hunt says that he tried to hold a female employee’s hand without consent. When the employee withdrew her hand, Hunt is alleged to have put his in her pocket so he could continue holding her hand. Not at all creepy.

Then there was the allegation that Hunt asked an employee, after she got a matching manicure and pedicure, whether anything else matched, the Daily Mail reported. He also reportedly slapped a woman’s bare thigh and dared her to go to human resources, according to the report.

“Al Hunt talked a progressive game of hiring more women and promoting them, but it was mere virtue-signaling. Young female reporters were just shiny new toys for him,” a former employee said, the Daily Mail reported.

These women were known as “Al’s Angels” and would often get bonuses and promotions, even as he allegedly made sexist and sexualized remarks about them, according to the report.

Hunt denied the allegations, although in terms that struck this reader as strangely equivocal.

“There never was a propensity to touch women in inappropriate ways. The shoulder rub charge is wrong,” he said in a statement, according to the Daily Mail.

“There was one incident in which I was talking to a group of political reporters and apparently put my hand on the shoulder of a reporter sitting in front of me; NOT rubbing her neck, putting my hand on shoulder while talking to other reporters.

“She spoke to HR about it, who looked into it, spoke with reporters present and concluded there was nothing inappropriate and thus no need to inform me. I only was told about this several years later.”

Hunt was also accused of being abusive toward employees during his time at Bloomberg LP, according to the Daily Mail. In one tragicomic instance described in the article, he berated employees for not being able to find his glasses. He was later informed they were on his head. In another instance that doesn’t have the tinge of ironic humor to it, he purportedly threw a stapler at an assistant.

“He could be abusive to people working for him and very, very demanding and not always kind about [it],” one employee said, according to the Daily Mail.

As you can probably guess, despite being amply informed of Hunt’s behavior by employees, Bloomberg upper management decided not to intervene.