MSNBC suspends Joe Scarborough for campaign contributions

By Lisa de Moraes



Joe Scarborough on MSNBC. (AP Photo/NBC, William B. Plowman)



Here we go again!

Little more than a week after MSNBC star Keith Olbermann returned to his show, following a two-day suspension over political contributions made in violation of his employer's policy, MSNBC anchor Joe Scarborough has suffered the same fate.

"This morning Joe Scarborough informed me that he made eight contributions of $500 each to local candidates in Florida between 2004-08," MSNBC president Phil Griffin said Friday in a statement sent out to the press.

"In my conversation with Joe two weeks ago, he did not recall these contributions. Since he did not seek or receive prior approval for these contributions, Joe understands that I will be suspending him for violating our policy. He will be immediately suspended for two days without pay and will return to the air on Wednesday, November 24th."

In what is fast becoming a tradition among suspended MSNBC anchors, Scarborough issued his own statement. He said it had only recently been brought to his attention "that I had had made political contributions over the past several years that were not consistent with MSNBC's rules and regs on the subject."

"These contributions were to close personal friends and family members and were limited to local races," Scarborough continued, adding that "despite the fact that these races were local and not relevant to my work at MSNBC," he had been told they violated the cable news net's policy.

Scarborough said he gave $500 contributions to his brother and three "longtime family friends" which were "nothing more than simple acts of friendship" from which "I gained nothing personally, politically, or professionally."

Because the contributions involved local, "non-competitive races" he said, and because they were given for "personal rather than political reasons...I mistakenly believed I did not need approval from MSNBC."

"I recognize that I have a responsibility to honor the guidelines and conditions of my employment, and I regret that I failed to do so in this matter," Scarborough said in his statement, adding, "I apologize to Phil Griffin, [NBC News president] Steve Capus, and my colleagues. This will not happen again"

Just 10 days earlier, Keith Olbermann returned to MSNBC after a two-day suspension for violating a company rule about making political donations, and explained to his viewers that that rule was "probably not legal."

One day before that, in preparation for his scheduled return after his two-day suspension, Olbermann had issued the following long-winded statement to the press:

I want to sincerely thank you for the honor of your extraordinary and ground-rattling support. Your efforts have been integral to the remedying of these recent events, and the results should remind us of the power of individuals spontaneously acting together to correct injustices great or small. I would also like to acknowledge with respect the many commentators and reporters, including those with whom my politics do not overlap, for their support.

I also wish to apologize to you viewers for having precipitated such anxiety and unnecessary drama. You should know that I mistakenly violated an inconsistently applied rule -- which I previously knew nothing about -- that pertains to the process by which such political contributions are approved by NBC. Certainly this mistake merited a form of public acknowledgment and/or internal warning, and an on-air discussion about the merits of limitations on such campaign contributions by all employees of news organizations. Instead, after my representative was assured that no suspension was contemplated, I was suspended without a hearing, and learned of that suspension through the media.

You should also know that I did not attempt to keep any of these political contributions secret; I knew they would be known to you and the rest of the public. I did not make them through a relative, friend, corporation, PAC, or any other intermediary, and I did not blame them on some kind of convenient 'mistake' by their recipients. When a website contacted NBC about one of the donations, I immediately volunteered that there were in fact three of them; and contrary to much of the subsequent reporting, I immediately volunteered to explain all this, on-air and off, in the fashion MSNBC desired.

I genuinely look forward to rejoining you on Countdown on Tuesday, to begin the repayment of your latest display of support and loyalty -- support and loyalty that is truly mutual.



--K.O.

We warned you it was long-winded!

Anyway, one day before that, Griffin had announced to the press that, "after several days of deliberation and discussion, I have determined that suspending Keith through and including Monday night's program is an appropriate punishment for his violation of our policy."

At around the same time, a clearly chastened Olbermann had tweeted:

Greetings from Exile! A quick, overwhelmed, stunned THANK YOU for support that feels like a global hug & obviously left me tweetless

XO.

And so ended the riveting two-day suspension imposed on MSNBC star Olbermann after being suspended by the cable news network when news broke that he'd contributed about $7,000 to three Democratic candidates in October.

Read more from the Washington Post:

MSNBC ends suspension of host Keith Olbermann

Live chat: Keith Olbermann suspension lifted, returns to MSNBC

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann suspended for contributing to 3 Democratic candidates