Report: Former Rep. Harold Ford Jr. fired for alleged 'misconduct'
Channel: news 11
Date: 2017-12-07

Former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr. was fired by Morgan Stanley following the company's investigation into alleged misconduct, according to a report Thursday.

Ford, formerly of Memphis, was fired for "conduct inconsistent with our values and in violation of our policies," according to a spokeswoman with the financial services firm, as quoted by HuffPost. 

A woman who worked with Ford but wasn't a Morgan Stanley employee told HuffPo reporters that Ford harassed and intimidated her, and "forcibly grabbed her one evening in Manhattan," and then pestered her in a series of emails afterward.

Ford denied the allegations in a statement to HuffPost and said he would bring legal action against Morgan Stanley and the woman.

"False claims like this undermine the real silence breakers," Ford said in a statement, published via social media by HuffPost reporter Yashar Ali.

An email to Morgan Stanley wasn't returned and Ford couldn't be reached immediately for comment.

Ford, 47, is part of the prominent Ford Family of Memphis politics and was widely considered a rising star in Democratic politics with national political aspirations. 

Ford succeeded his father — Harold Ford Sr. — as the congressman for the heavily-Democratic Ninth Congressional District in 1996. Ford Jr., a minority owner of the Memphis Grizzlies, represented the district from 1996 to 2007.

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He ran unsuccessfully in 2007 for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Sen. Bill Frist — a seat eventually won by Republican Sen. Bob Corker.

After leaving Congress, Ford has served in a couple of academic roles at Vanderbilt and New York University, and has appeared frequently as a guest and political expert on national television shows.

Before joining Morgan Stanley in 2011, Ford worked for Merrill Lynch and Co. Inc.

Harold Ford Sr. said he was surprised by the news today and hadn't talked to his son.

"I'm just learning right now," he said before hanging up on a reporter.