NBC investigation: Network execs didn’t know of Lauer allegations

An internal NBC investigation found that the network’s management was not aware of the sexual misconduct allegations against former “Today” anchor Matt Lauer, only learning of them when four women went public in November, the New York Daily News reported.

The findings were based on interviews with 68 current and former employees of the company that were conducted after Lauer was fired in November following one allegation against him, according to the Daily News.

Three more women came forward with allegations against Lauer after he was fired.

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Some of the women said they had complained to senior managers about Lauer but had been ignored.

NBC’s investigation confirmed the complaints by the four women but said their concerns weren’t brought to the attention of managers until November.

“All four women who came forward confirmed that they did not tell their direct manager or anyone else in a position of authority about their sexual encounters with Lauer,” the report says.

“We were also unable to establish that any of those interviewed, including NBC News and ‘Today’ leadership, News HR and others in the position of authority in the news division, knew that Lauer had engaged in sexual activity with other employees,” the report noted, according to the Los Angeles Times

The report also addressed the reported existence of a button in Lauer’s office that locked his door.

Such a button, the report noted, was a “commonly available feature” in NBC’s Rockefeller Center in New York and does not lock the door from the inside, The Washington Post reported.