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Mitchell: Men at MSNBC make more money

During an interview Thursday, Mitt Romney senior adviser Barbara Comstock told Andrea Mitchell that “we know here at MSNBC the guys get paid more" — and the MSNBC host replied, “We certainly do.”

Mitchell and Comstock were discussing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act on “Andrea Mitchell Reports” when the Romney adviser said MSNBC has issues with fair pay for men and women.

“I mean for Lilly Ledbetter, this was not just a legal issue,” Mitchell said. “This was the fact that she was not permitted to sue for equal pay because the statute had ran out and the law said if you didn't know the men you were working with were making more money, which many of us don't know, we don't have access to those confidential —“

(Also on POLITICO: Equal pay surfaces in debate)

“We know here at MSNBC the guys get paid more,” Comstock jumped in, laughing. “We know that.”

“We certainly do,” Mitchell replied.

“So this is one of the places where you need to be a little bit more public with it,” Comstock said.

As the interview wrapped, Comstock again brought up the issue of fair pay at MSNBC.

“You get after MSNBC here, Andrea,” Comstock said. “Make sure the women make the same here.”

“Thank you very much,” Mitchell replied.

UPDATE: (4:03 p.m.): Andrea Mitchell tells POLITICO, “I was referring to the industry as a whole. This remark has been taken out of context.”

MSNBC spokeswoman Lauren Skowronski adds, "We take this issue very seriously and I can tell you that we're proud of the gender equality at MSNBC."