BREAKDOWN

Heilemann: I Was Shocked to Learn of Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Mark Halperin

“Game Change” co-author says he was “flabbergasted.”

In his first public remarks since his longtime journalistic partner Mark Halperin was accused of sexual misconduct, John Heilemann says he was “flabbergasted and shocked” to learn of the allegations against Halperin. “I had never heard of, been exposed to or had any inkling of the notion that he had engaged in any behavior that could be described in even the broadest sense of being sexual harassment or sexual assault,” Heilemann told The New York Times, which reports that the Halperin-Heilemann partnership is over. The pair wrote the well-known Game Change series about the past two presidential elections, and were set to unveil the third installment of the series—focused on the 2016 election—until Penguin Press announced it was canceling the upcoming book.