C- SPAN SUSPENDS SCULLY FOR LYING ABOUT HACK
NEW YORK — C- SPAN suspended its political editor Steve Scully indefinitely Thursday after he admitted to lying about his Twitter feed being hacked when he was confronted about a questionable exchange with former Trump aide Anthony Scaramucci.
The news came on the day of what was supposed to be a career highlight for the 30year C- SPAN veteran. Scully was to moderate the second debate between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, which was canceled after Trump would not agree to a virtual format because of his COVID- 19 diagnosis.
A week ago, after Trump had criticized him as a “never Trumper,” Scully tweeted “@ Scaramucci should I respond to Trump.” Scaramucci, a former Trump communications director and now a critic of the president, advised Scully to ignore him.
Scully said that when he saw his tweet had created a controversy, “I falsely claimed that my Twitter account had been hacked.”
He had been frustrated by Trump’s comments and several weeks of criticism on social media and conservative news outlets about his role as moderator, including attacks directed at his family, he said.
“These were both errors in judgment for which I am totally responsible,” Scully said. “I apologize.”
C- SPAN said Scully confessed to lying about the hack on Wednesday.
Trump seized on the news, tweeting “I was right again! I was right again! Steve Scully just admitted he was lying about his Twitter being hacked. The Debate was Rigged!”