Bernie Sanders Image by Getty Images

Senator Bernie Sanders put out a public apology to female staffers who said they were harassed or discriminated against while working on his 2016 presidential campaign.

“To the women on my 2016 campaign who were harassed or mistreated, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for speaking out. I apologize,” he tweeted Thursday. “We can’t just talk about ending sexism and discrimination. It must be a reality in our daily lives. That was clearly not the case in 2016.”

A recently leaked internal letter revealed that dozens of people who worked on the campaign sought to to meet with the senator and his advisors to “discuss the issue of sexual violence and harassment” before the next election cycle.

In his apology, Sanders admitted that the campaign’s “standards and safeguards were inadequate,” which he said were improved in 2018 with the implementation of “some of the strongest sexual harassment policies in the country.” He said the allegations, which he claimed he was unaware of, were unacceptable and would not be tolerated anywhere.

“Clearly we need a cultural revolution in this country to change workplace attitudes and behavior,” he continued. “I intend in every way to be actively involved in the process.”

Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at fisher@forward.com, or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

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