New Republic Staff Was Warned Its Publisher Had A History Of Mistreating Women
Taya Kitman
Fish came in to work  and  Taya Kitman  a high-ranking staffer  at the time  and two other employees were in the conference room waiting for  him . They needed to prepare the 400-person seating chart for the organizationâs annual gala.  Kitman  wanted to get  it  done and pressed Fish to help  her . Fish seemed annoyed by  her  request.
Fish  who is well over 6 feet tall  approached  Kitman  from behind  put his hands around  her  neck and applied pressure  according to four people with knowledge of the incident.
One person said Fish meant it as a joke  but took it too far. He left red marks on  Kitman âs neck  the four sources said. Shaken by the encounter   Kitman  tried to downplay  it .
Board member Victor Navasky and The Nation Instituteâs lawyer at the time were briefed the following day about the incident. They told Fish to apologize  and  Kitman  didnât want to take things further.
In an email to HuffPost  Fish said: âThe incident with  Taya Kitman  did not happen as described.  Taya  has been a friend and colleague of nearly 20 years  I have the utmost regard for  her  and the work  she  had done at the institute. We were partners in building the organization and we continue to collaborate on projects that we created together. I know it sounds self-serving  but anyone who knows me knows I would never harm a woman or another person.â
 Kitman  declined to comment.
Reached by phone last week  Navasky praised Fish and insisted he didnât know anything about the alleged physical altercation between Fish and  Kitman . âI donât know what youâre talking about  so thereâs nothing to deny or not deny â he told HuffPost on Friday. âThe Nation Institute is a private thing and the trustees arenât supposed to talk about anything that happened there  and Iâm obeying their rules. But Iâm just telling you that Hamilton was a great partner for me. Period.â
 Kitman  is now executive director of the institute.
âI know that  Taya  recognized that Ham was a problem and did everything she could to get him out of there â Berman said. âThings have been much better since  Taya  took over. Sheâs respected by the staff. Sheâs respected by the fellows. Sheâs respected by the donors. Sheâs very hardworking.  Taya  is literally the exact opposite of Ham  and I mean that in the best way possible about her.â
Berman added: âWhen  Taya  took over  the office became a lot more functional and pleasant to be in.â
After this story was first published   Taya Kitman  released the following statement:
Fish came in to work  and   [TGT] and two other employees were in the conference room waiting for   [TGT]  . They needed to prepare the 400-person seating chart for the organizationâs annual gala.   [TGT]   wanted to get   [TGT]   done and pressed Fish to help   [TGT]  . Fish seemed annoyed by   [TGT]   request.
Fish  who is well over 6 feet tall  approached  Kitman  from behind  put his hands around  her  neck and applied pressure  according to four people with knowledge of the incident.
One person said Fish meant it as a joke  but took it too far. He left red marks on   [TGT]  âs neck  the four sources said. Shaken by the encounter    [TGT] tried to downplay   [TGT]  .
Board member Victor Navasky and The Nation Instituteâs lawyer at the time were briefed the following day about the incident. They told Fish to apologize  and   [TGT] didnât want to take things further.
In an email to HuffPost  Fish said: âThe incident with  Taya Kitman  did not happen as described.  Taya  has been a friend and colleague of nearly 20 years  I have the utmost regard for  her  and the work  she  had done at the institute. We were partners in building the organization and we continue to collaborate on projects that we created together. I know it sounds self-serving  but anyone who knows me knows I would never harm a woman or another person.â
 Kitman  declined to comment.
Reached by phone last week  Navasky praised Fish and insisted he didnât know anything about the alleged physical altercation between Fish and  Kitman . âI donât know what youâre talking about  so thereâs nothing to deny or not deny â he told HuffPost on Friday. âThe Nation Institute is a private thing and the trustees arenât supposed to talk about anything that happened there  and Iâm obeying their rules. But Iâm just telling you that Hamilton was a great partner for me. Period.â
 Kitman  is now executive director of the institute.
âI know that  Taya  recognized that Ham was a problem and did everything she could to get him out of there â Berman said. âThings have been much better since  Taya  took over. Sheâs respected by the staff. Sheâs respected by the fellows. Sheâs respected by the donors. Sheâs very hardworking.  Taya  is literally the exact opposite of Ham  and I mean that in the best way possible about her.â
Berman added: âWhen  Taya  took over  the office became a lot more functional and pleasant to be in.â
After this story was first published   Taya Kitman  released the following statement: