Morgan Stanley Says Ford Wasn’t Fired for Sexual Misconduct

Six weeks after firing the former congressman Harold E. Ford Jr. for unspecified misconduct, Morgan Stanley clarified Monday that the misconduct was not sexual in nature.

“The press has reported that Mr. Ford was terminated for sexual misconduct,” the bank said in a statement. “He was not. We have not received any internal allegations of sexual harassment or misconduct involving him either before or after his separation became public.”

The statement is part of a legal settlement that Ford reached over the weekend with Morgan Stanley, according to a person who was briefed on the resolution but was not authorized to speak publicly. The broader contours of the settlement were unclear, including whether there was a financial component. Through a spokesman, Ford declined to comment.

Before his firing last month, Ford had spent seven years at Morgan Stanley recruiting clients. He joined the investment banking industry after losing a U.S. Senate race in Tennessee as the Democratic nominee in 2006.

Ford, 47, was fired after a female journalist told Morgan Stanley that he had harassed her at a dinner in 2014. At the time, Morgan Stanley said he had been fired “for conduct inconsistent with our values and in violation of our policies.” Some media reports of his firing said it had been triggered by the harassment allegation.

Ford has denied that he behaved improperly, and he threatened to sue Morgan Stanley for wrongful termination and both the bank and the journalist, Lauren Tara LaCapra, for defaming him. Ford’s lawyers had been pushing Morgan Stanley to issue a statement saying he wasn’t fired for sexual misconduct, according to a person close to Ford.

LaCapra did not respond to requests for comment Monday.

LaCapra, a financial editor at Reuters who once covered Morgan Stanley as a reporter, accused Ford of grabbing her and trying to pull her into an elevator after a dinner in February 2014. Fourteen days later, she emailed him: “I felt that some of your conduct was inappropriate and it made me uncomfortable.” She asked Ford, who had invited her to join him for dinner again, to stop contacting her.

Ford apologized at the time, and the contact ceased.

Late last year, reporters started asking Morgan Stanley about the events surrounding that dinner. Morgan Stanley conducted a brief investigation and fired Ford.

Monday’s statement didn’t say why Ford had been fired, besides noting that his departure “was based on corporate policy.”

The New York Times reported this month that Ford had been accused at Morgan Stanley of padding his expense account and mistreating his assistants, according to people close to the bank and to Ford. Ford has acknowledged that he faced warnings over the issues, but he has said he behaved appropriately.