Steve Scully has made a jerk out of everyone who defended his character, most especially conservatives.
The C-SPAN politics editor, who was slated originally to moderate the since-canceled second 2020 presidential debate, admits he lied when he alleged “hackers” used his personal Twitter account last week to send a relatively innocuous note to Trumpworld washout Anthony Scaramucci.
The network has rewarded Scully’s admission of guilt with an indefinite suspension. It is never the crime. It is the cover-up.
Nearly as bad as the fact that Scully lied to the public and his employer, which rushed to his defense by enlisting the aid of the FBI, is that the disgraced newsman blames conservative media for his mess.
“For several weeks,” Scully said Thursday in a statement, “I was subjected to relentless criticism on social media and in conservative news outlets regarding my role as moderator for the second presidential debate, including attacks aimed directly at my family.”
“This culminated on Thursday, Oct. 8, when I heard President Trump go on national television twice and falsely attack me by name,” Scully’s excuse continues. “Out of frustration, I sent a brief tweet addressed to Anthony Scaramucci.”
Blaming conservatives for his decision to lie about being hacked is awfully bold considering conservatives and individuals in right-leaning media were among the first to defend Scully’s immediately dubious hacking claims (for reference, the C-SPAN editor has claimed twice in the past that his Twitter account was “hacked.” We should probably assume those were lies as well).
Former Trump White House press secretary and Newsmax host Sean Spicer, for example, said he spoke personally with Scully, who told him he “did not send the tweet.”
“Steve is a good man & will make an excellent [debates] moderator,” said Spicer.
CNN contributor and former Republican Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum added to Spicer’s note, saying, “I believe that. For decades [C-SPAN] and [Scully] have been scrupulously providing unopinionated coverage of politics.”
“If Steve Scully says his account was hacked and he didn’t send the message, I believe him,” said GOP election guru and frequent Fox News guest Karl Rove. “I see him as an honorable person.”
Even Trump flunky Seb Gorka came to Scully’s defense, saying, “I too spoke with Scully. He denies it. And has only been a professional with me the numerous times I have appeared on [his show].”
In case it is not clear already, these individuals did not rush to Scully’s defense blindly. He appears to have lied to their faces, and they believed him, thinking him a stand-up guy.
People on the other side of the aisle, including former Clinton staffer Joe Lockhart and the Washington Post’s Karen Tulmulty, similarly came to Scully’s defense after he claimed he was hacked. Bet they all feel pretty stupid right now.
The tweet, by the way, the thing for which Scully was willing to incinerate 30-plus years of bipartisan goodwill, stated simply, “should I respond to trump.”
On Thursday, the C-SPAN editor recounted the steps that led to his lie, saying, “The next morning when I saw that this tweet had created a new controversy, I falsely claimed that my Twitter account had been hacked.”
For the record, “falsely claimed” is just a cute euphemism for “lied.”
“These were both errors in judgement [sic] for which I am totally responsible,” he said. “I apologize.”
His statement goes on like that for a bit longer, but you get the picture. Scully is sorry he lied to you. It’s just this war, and that lying son of a bitch Johnson.
