Sen. Bernie Sanders told CNN's Anderson Cooper Wednesday that he hadn't known about allegations of sexual harassment and pay disparity made by female staffers during his 2016 presidential campaign.
"I am not going to sit here and tell you that we did everything right in terms of human resources, in terms of addressing the needs that I'm hearing from now, that women felt they were disrespected, that there was sexual harassment which was not dealt with as effectively as possible," Sanders told Cooper. "I certainly apologize to any woman who felt she was not treated appropriately."
Sanders' interview came hours after The New York Times detailed claims from several women who worked on the Democrat's campaign. They allege the campaign never adequately addressed their complaints about sexual harassment, mistreatment or pay gaps between the male and female employees.
Sanders' campaign committee did not dispute the allegations to the Times, saying HR actions taken to address such complaints in 2016 included conducting a review to fix any pay disparities. It also noted new harassment protocols were implemented for Sanders' 2018 Senate re-election campaign.
Sanders has previously said he's considering running for president in 2020. He told CNN that if he does choose to do so, his campaign would do better to address such allegations.
Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.
