Two female former staffers accused former NBC News anchor and icon Tom Brokaw of sexual misconduct, the Washington Post reported Thursday. A former correspondent and a production assistant both said Brokaw made unwanted sexual advances while they were starting their careers at NBC in the 1990s. Both say they did not report the incidents to the network at the time; Brokaw denies both accusations.

Linda Vester, now 52, was a young reporter for the network when, she says, Brokaw made unwanted sexual advances, once in a New York hotel room and another in London. Vester says Brokaw pursued her out of the blue via NBC News’ internal messaging system. She rebuffed his initial offer to get a drink, but Brokaw showed up at her hotel room uninvited later that evening and forcibly tried to kiss her. “What do you want from me?” Vester said she asked Brokaw. “An affair of more than passing affection,” Brokaw responded.

Vester presented two pieces of corroborating evidence, including a journal entry recounting the evening. “My gut told me his intentions were not good,” she wrote later that evening. In addition, she made phone calls to a friend and mentor at the network in Washington, D.C. seeking help navigating Brokaw’s advances. At one point after Brokaw said he was coming to Vester’s room, the friend told Vester she would stay on the phone to make sure the young reporter remained safe.

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Brokaw, now 78, disputed Vester’s account of their interaction in a statement. “I met with Linda Vester on two occasions, both at her request, 23 years ago, because she wanted advice with respect to her career at NBC,” he said in a statement issued by NBC. “The meetings were brief, cordial and appropriate, and despite Linda’s allegations, I made no romantic overtures towards her, at that time or any other.” Vester, who did not file a complaint at the time out of fear of retribution, told the Post that she was not planning on filing suit against Brokaw or the network. “I am speaking out now because NBC has failed to hire outside counsel to investigate a genuine, long-standing problem of sexual misconduct in the news division,” Vester said.

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The second woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the Post that Brokaw stopped her in the hallway when she arrived at work one day in the mid-1990s, and the anchor called the then-24-year-old aside.

The production assistant [-] had been looking for a more permanent role as a researcher on one of NBC’s shows. He took her hands in his and commented on how cold they were, the woman recently recalled. “He put my hands under his jacket and against his chest and pulled me in so close and asked me, ‘How is your job search going?’ ” She looked up at the man she had habitually called “Mr. Brokaw,” and mumbled a reply, she said. Then he said, in her recollection, “Why don’t you come into my office after the show and let’s talk about it.”

The woman says the intention behind Brokaw’s invitation was clear and she did not visit the network star’s office and left NBC altogether shortly after. Brokaw denied the incident took place.

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• Sexual Harassment
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