October 15, 2020
C-SPAN has suspended political editor Steve Scully, who was at one time slated to moderate a presidential debate, indefinitely after he admitted he lied about his Twitter being hacked when a message to former Trump aide turned adversary Anthony Scaramucci emerged.
C-SPAN Suspends Steve Scully Indefinitely After He Admits He Lied About His Twitter Being Hacked
Scully, the “Washington Journal” host who was selected to moderate the now-canceled town hall event, went viral last week after a tweet sent from his account indicated he had reached out to former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, something he later alleged was the result of being hacked.
C-SPAN and the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) did not immediately respond to Fox News’ requests for comment.
Both C-SPAN and the CPD initially defended Scully. According to C-SPAN’s original statement, Scully “did not originate the tweet” in question. The statement added that the CPD was investigating the incident “with the help of authorities.”
MEDIA LARGELY AVOIDS STEVE SCULLY CONTROVERSY, TV NETWORKS SKIP DEBATE MODERATOR’S ‘HACK’ CLAIM
CPD later stated that “it had reported the apparent hack to the FBI and Twitter” as part of its investigation.
A spokesperson for Twitter previously told Fox News “We’ve no comment” when asked to confirm whether or not Scully’s account was hacked.
Scully, who has not yet publicly addressed the controversy himself and could not be reached for comment, has a history of blaming “hackers” for posts made on his Twitter account, dating back to 2012 and 2013.
Tweets from 2012 and 2013 pic.twitter.com/jdeKqq7UEW
— Yashar Ali 🐘 یاشار (@yashar) October 9, 2020
The CPD had selected Scully to moderate the second presidential debate between President Trump and Joe Biden scheduled for Oct. 15. That debate was canceled Friday night after Trump pulled out following the CPD’s announcement that the event would be virtual. Biden subsequently withdrew from the debate and has since scheduled an ABC News town hall for the night that the debate was supposed to take place. Trump similarly landed a town hall with NBC News airing opposite of ABC’s Biden event.
STEVE SCULLY HAS A HISTORY OF BLAMING ‘HACKERS’ FOR POSTS MADE ON HIS TWITTER ACCOUNT
Scully’s initial tweet caused confusion and fury among critics, with many concluding the moderator meant to send his message to Scaramucci privately.
“@Scaramucci should I respond to trump,” Scully wrote in the now-deleted tweet.
Scaramucci responded by telling Scully: “Ignore. He is having a hard enough time. Some more bad stuff about to go down.”
Scaramucci told Kilmeade last week that he thought Scully’s tweet was real, prompting his own response Thursday night. He also tweeted later Friday that he has taken Scully’s hacking claim “at his word,” adding, “Let’s not cancel anymore [sic] people from our culture for absolutely something like this. It’s insignificant. He is an objective journalist.”
He responded to Scully’s suspension on Thursday, writing “Brutal outcome for a silly non political tweet. Nothing objectionable. Cancel culture going too far.”
Scully’s credibility as an unbiased debate moderator was initially questioned after it became known that he previously worked as an intern for then-Sen. Biden and served as a staffer for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass.
During the 2016 campaign, Scully shared a New York Times op-ed headlined, “No, Not Trump, Not Ever.”
Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News.
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