Steve Scully says he lied about the hacking of his Twitter account when he encountered an exchange with a former Trump aide.
C-SPAN has indefinitely suspended its policy editor Steve Scully after he admitted lying about the hacking of his Twitter account when he encountered a questionable exchange with former Trump aide Anthony Scaramucci.
The news came on Thursday, the day that was supposed to be the highlight of the veteran C-SPAN’s 30-year career. Scully was getting used to the second debate between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, which was canceled after Trump rejected a hypothetical coordination over his diagnosis of COVID-19.
A week ago, after Trump had criticized him as “never a trumpeter,” Scully tweeted, “Scaramucci I have to respond to Trump.” Scaramucci, a former Trump communications director and now critic of the president, advised Scully to ignore him.
Scully said that when he saw his tweet sparked a controversy, he “mistakenly claimed that my Twitter account had been hacked.”
He said he was frustrated by Trump’s comments and criticism for several weeks on social and conservative media about his role as a mediator, including attacks directed against his family.
“They were both wrongly judged and I am fully responsible for it,” Scully said. “I apologize.”
He said he had disappointed his fellow C-SPAN and fellow news professionals and panelists. He said, “I ask for their forgiveness as I try to move forward with a moment of reflection and disappointment in myself.”
C-SPAN said Scully admitted lying about the hack on Wednesday.
The network said: “He understands that he made a serious mistake.” “We are deeply saddened by this news, and we do not condone his actions.”
Trump seized the news, tweeting, “I was right again! I was right again!
Steve Scully just admitted he was lying about his Twitter account being hacked. The discussion was rigged! “
The debate committee did not immediately respond to a letter requesting comment.
Scully has led the network’s presidential election coverage since 1992, but the comment means he will not be part of C-SPAN’s election night programming. Scully was the session director for The Washington Journal, the weekly outreach program, and regularly hosted other C-SPAN programs.
The network said Scully consistently demonstrated fairness and professionalism, and built a reservoir of goodwill.
“After some distance from this episode, we believe in his ability to continue to contribute to C-SPAN,” the network said.
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