CrosswordNewsletters
DAILY BEAST
ALL
  • Cheat Sheet
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Entertainment
  • Media
  • Innovation
  • Opinion
  • World
  • U.S. News
  • Scouted
  • Travel
CHEAT SHEET
    POLITICS
    • Fever Dreams
    • Biden World
    • Elections
    • Opinion
    • National Security
    • Congress
    • Pay Dirt
    • The New Abnormal
    • Right Richter
    • Trumpland
    MEDIA
    • Confider
    • Daytime Talk
    • Late-Night
    • Fox News
    U.S. NEWS
    • Identities
    • Crime
    • Race
    • LGBT
    • Extremism
    • Coronavirus
    WORLD
    • Russia
    • Europe
    • China
    • Middle East
    INNOVATION
    • Science
    TRAVEL
      ENTERTAINMENT
      • TV
      • Movies
      • Music
      • Comedy
      • Sports
      • Sex
      • TDBs Obsessed
      • Awards Shows
      • The Last Laugh
      FOOD & BEVERAGE
        CULTURE
        • Power Trip
        • Fashion
        • Books
        • Royalist
        TECH
        • Disinformation
        SCOUTED
        • Face Masks
        • Clothing
        • Technology
        • Bedroom
        • Kitchen
        • Home
        • Fitness
        • The Case For
        • I'm Looking For
        • New Kids On the Block
        COUPONS
        • Adidas Promo Codes
        • DoorDash Promo Codes
        • H&M Coupons
        • Hotwire Promo Codes
        • Wine.com Discounts
        • Vitacost Coupons
        • Spanx Promo Codes
        • StubHub Promo Codes
        Products
        NewslettersPodcastsCrosswordsSubscription
        FOLLOW US
        GOT A TIP?

        SEARCH

        HOMEPAGE
        Media

        OANN Reporter Concocts Batshit Scenario to Push Trump’s Scarborough Murder Conspiracy

        SYCOPHANT

        “Couldn’t President Trump’s attorneys immediately depose Joe Scarborough?”

        Justin Baragona

        Media Reporter

        Updated May. 28, 2020 6:05PM ET / Published May. 28, 2020 4:02PM ET 
        NBC

        One America News reporter Chanel Rion on Thursday continued her habit of promoting President Donald Trump’s favorite conspiracies via loaded questions. This time, she asked White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany whether the president could ultimately depose MSNBC host Joe Scarborough to see if he murdered a former staffer.

        In recent weeks, the president has repeatedly and falsely accused Scarborough of killing his congressional aide Lori Klausutis in 2001, even going so far as to suggest they were having an affair. Authorities at the time found Klausutis died accidentally in Scarborough’s Florida office due to a previously undiagnosed abnormal heart rhythm. Furthermore, Scarborough was in D.C. at the time of her death.

        Towards the end of Thursday’s White House press briefing, Rion—who is no longer part of the White House briefing rotation but is personally invited to attend by the press secretary—boosted the debunked conspiracy theory by concocting an outlandish scenario in which Trump could potentially prove Scarborough’s connection to Klausutis’ death.

        “If Joe Scarborough were innocent couldn’t he sue the president for defamation?” the OANN reporter asked McEnany. “And then, in turn, couldn’t President Trump's attorneys immediately depose Joe Scarborough and allow him to go under oath to explain how this 28-year-old woman was found dead by his desk with multiple skull fractures?”

        “Would the president welcome a defamation suit by Joe Scarborough?” Rion concluded.

        McEnany, for her part, told Rion that she would just refer her back to the press secretary’s previous remarks about Scarborough supposedly joking about the aide’s death with Don Imus in 2003, which McEnany added was “very disturbing.” (The audio in question—which was recently unearthed by pro-Trump media outlets—appears to show Scarborough merely brushing off Imus’ crude joke and moving on.)

        “Do you think Scarborough has grounds to do so?” Rion reacted, prompting McEnany to say she had no comment and would “just point back to the Don Imus audio.”

        Amid the president’s recent obsession with labeling a Trump-critical cable-news host a murderer, Klausutis’ widower has begged the president to stop dragging his wife’s name through the mud while unsuccessfully calling for Twitter to delete Trump’s tweets. Trump and the White House, meanwhile, have repeatedly pointed to the Imus video in an effort to justify the president’s actions, and Trump himself has even suggested the family wants him to get to the bottom of Klausutis’ death despite their pleas.

        As for Rion’s theory about Scarborough suing the president for defamation: As national-security attorney Bradley Moss recently wrote, Scarborough is pretty much unable to take any legal action against the president as Trump is currently immune due to federal regulations.

        Justin Baragona

        Media Reporter

        @justinbaragonajustin.baragona@thedailybeast.com

        Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.

        READ THIS LIST

        DAILY BEAST
        • Cheat Sheet
        • Politics
        • Crime
        • Entertainment
        • Media
        • World
        • Innovation
        • U.S. News
        • Scouted
        • Travel
        • Subscription
        • Crossword
        • Newsletters
        • Podcasts
        • About
        • Contact
        • Tips
        • Jobs
        • Advertise
        • Help
        • Privacy
        • Code of Ethics & Standards
        • Diversity
        • Terms & Conditions
        • Copyright & Trademark
        • Sitemap
        • Coupons:
        • Coupons:
        • Vistaprint Coupons
        • Samsung Promo Coupons
        • Home Depot Coupons
        • Office Depot Coupons
        • eBay Coupons
        • Ashley Furniture Promo Codes
        © 2022 The Daily Beast Company LLC