Bernie Sanders adviser forcibly kissed female subordinate in 2016 campaign: Report

Washington, Jan 10: The campaign of the 2016 presidential election in the US was marred by episodes of sexual misconduct, especially by the then Republican candidate Donald Trump who eventually won the poll to become the president. But now, the Opposition Democratic camp has also hit the headlines for something similar. According to a report published in Politico, a top adviser of Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders who lost to Hillary Clinton as the eventual opponent to Trump, has been accused of forcibly kissing a young female subordinate after the Democratic National Convention of the election year got over.

The adviser, Robert Becker, who oversaw Sanders's campaign in Iowa, Michigan, California and New York, and served as the deputy national field director, had allegedly grabbed a woman in her let 20s by her wrists and forcibly kissed her at a restaurant in Philadelphia. The campaign staffers had gathered at the restaurant to mark the end of Sanders's presidential bid. It was also reported by Politico that Becker, 50 then, had told the young woman in front of other people that he always wanted to have sex with her.

Though Becker denied the charges, Sanders's main campaign committee denounced his alleged actions and said the former would not be part of any of its future endeavours.

The woman did not open her mouth then since the campaign was over and she also feared a backlash from Sanders's supporters. But when Becker contacted her again for a potential rerun for Sanders in the 2020 election campaign, she came out strongly over the incident.

"It just really sucks because no one ever held him accountable and he kept pushing and pushing and seeing how much he could get away with," she told the outlet. "This can't happen in 2020. You can't run for president of the United States unless you acknowledge that every campaign demands a safe work environment for every employee and volunteer."

As 77-year-old Sanders explores another presidential bid, several reports came out last week about several women supporters of Sanders who suffered in a hyper-masculine atmosphere during the 2016 campaign.

Sanders, apologised in an interview on CNN last week "to any woman who felt that she was not treated appropriately. And of course, if I run, we will do better next time."