Mark Hurd
A letter released by the Delaware court details the alleged sexual harassment of contractor Jodie Fisher by then-CEO Mark Hurd while Fisher was at HP. The letter, written by Fisher's lawyer Gloria Allred, had been held by Hurd's lawyers for months. Reuters

Former HP CEO Mark Hurd tried to pressure Jodie Fisher to have sex and kissed and touched her without her consent while she was a company events contractor at Hewlett-Packard, a much-contested letter recently recently by the court reveals.

Hurd, who lost a battle to keep the letter from Fisher's lawyer Gloria Allred confidential, remains under scrutiny even after an investigation with HP found that there was not enough evidence to charged the former chairman with sexual harassment. The recent public release of a letter accusing him of using [his] status and authority to pressure Fisher into an affair won't help matters.

Though Jodie Fisher herself later said the letter by Allred contained inaccuracies, a decision by the Delaware court to release the damning testimony has thrown the disgraced ex-CEO back into the media spotlight, especially since it reveals the Hurd paid Fisher $1 million to keep her quiet. The eight-page letter, dated June 24, 2010, can be found below.

'Violated, Used and Disregarded'

According to Gloria Allred's letter, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard made a series of increasingly aggressive advances toward employee Jodie Fisher between 2007 and 2009, kissing and embracing her, brushing his hands over her breasts and repeatedly attempting to initiate an affair.

You had designs to make her your lover from the onset using your status and authority as CEO of HP, Allred said in the letter to Hurd, the contents of which were first reported by Bloomberg News.

At times you would behave professionally, seemingly 'getting' that she was not going to have sex with you. At other times, not, and you would relentlessly attempt to cajole her into having sex.

The letter, which sought a settlement for sexual harassment, said Hurd's unwanted overtures left Jodie Fisher, feeling violated, used and disregarded, and that the HP contractor stopped getting contracts shortly after rebuffing yet another advance during a meetinf with Mark Hurd in Idaho.

She knew that if she did not have sex with you soon, her job was over, Allred wrote in the letter. Which is exactly what occurred.

Letter Contained 'Many Inaccuracies'

During the HP investigation, Hewlett-Packard officials noted that Jodie Fisher herself recanted unspecified parts of the eight-page letter, and in emails with the former CEO appeared to show none of the anxiety or fear Gloria Allred's settlement argument claims she experienced between 2007 and 2009.

Although Jodie Fisher has since said that the letter to Hurd contained many inaccuracies, she only stepped back from the document once Hurd paid her a settlement of $1 million, according to The Post.

The letter also asserts that Mark Hurd boasted about his sexual conquests, saying he had several mistresses, and filled Jodie Fisher in on company secrets, even taking her to an ATM at one point to show her his $1 million balance.

Full Text of Allred Letter

Whether or not all the details in the Mark Hurd sexual harassment scandal are true, however, it seems indisputable that the married CEO was having some kind of a relationship with Jodie Fisher, sexual or no, and that its reveal was what caused him to leave HP after years of being one of the company's most successful CEOs.

Hurd, now president HP rival Oracle Corp, had no comment about the letter's release, but his attorney, Amy Wintersheimer, released a statement to the media dismissing the document's claims as completely fabricated, noting that both Hurd and Fisher deny ever having sex with each other.

To view the full text of Gloria Allred's letter to Mark Hurd, visit docstoc.com, where the letter detailing the alleged sexual harassment of Jodie Fisher has been published.