HBO halts plans to develop Mark Halperin book into movie

HBO is ditching a project tied to a planned book by Mark Halperin after a CNN report alleged he sexually harassed women several years ago.

The book, which will be co-written with John Heilemann, is about the 2016 presidential election. “HBO has no tolerance for sexual harassment within the company or its productions,” the network said in a statement.

Earlier today, MSNBC said that Halperin would step down from his role as NBC News analyst — he made frequent appearances on Morning Joe — after a CNN report on Wednesday claimed he sexually harassed women while he served as political director at ABC News.

An ABC News spokesman said Halperin left the division more than a decade ago and that “no complaints were filed during his tenure.” But Halperin released a statement to CNN Wednesday, saying, “During this period, I did pursue relationships with women that I worked with, including some junior to me. I now understand from these accounts that my behavior was inappropriate and caused others pain. For that, I am deeply sorry and I apologize. Under the circumstances, I’m going to take a step back from my day-to-day work while I properly deal with this situation.”

Halperin, 52, co-wrote the bestselling book Game Change, which was made into an HBO movie starring Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin.