Trump tweet calls for investigation into Scarborough’s dead staffer while in Congress

BY JOE CONCHA
The Hill

President Trump on Wednesday appeared to call for an investigation into the 2001 death of an intern to GOP congressman-turned-MSNBC host Joe Scarborough.

In a tweet calling for Scarborough and MSNBC president Phil Griffin to be terminated in the wake of Matt Lauer’s firing, the president mentioned an “‘unsolved mystery’ that took place in Florida years ago.”

“So now that Matt Lauer is gone when will the Fake News practitioners at NBC be terminating the contract of Phil Griffin? And will they terminate low ratings Joe Scarborough based on the ‘unsolved mystery’ that took place in Florida years ago? Investigate!” the president wrote to his 43.6 million followers.

Trump was referencing Lori Klausutis, 28-year-old office staffer who worked for Scarborough when he was a representative from Florida. Klausutis was found dead in the congressman’s district office in July 2001.

A local medical examiner ruled the death an accident, saying Klausutis had collapsed and hit her head on the side of a desk. She had an undiagnosed heart condition, according to the medical examiner, and the head trauma caused a fatal blood clot.

Klausutis had worked for Scarborough since May 1999, according to Scarborough’s press secretary at the time.

Scarborough currently hosts MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and has been a vocal and persistent critic of the president.

“Looks like I picked a good day to stop responding to Trump’s bizarre tweets,” Scarborough wrote to his 1.96 million followers on Twitter.

“He is not well,” he added.

Trump’s tweet came shortly after NBC announced the firing of Lauer, the longtime host of “Today.”

“Today” co-host Hoda Kotb said this is a “tough morning.” She said she’s known Lauer for 15 years and has loved him as a friend and a colleague.

“It’s hard to reconcile what we are hearing with the man who we know who walks in this building every single day,” she said.

Lauer, 59, was the highest paid anchor in broadcasting, earning $28 million per year.

Trump hasn’t appeared on MSNBC since 2016 and last sat down with NBC News in May with “Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt.

This report was updated at 10:27 a.m.

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http://thehill.com/homenews/media/362307-trump-tweet-calls-for-investigation-into-scarboroughs-dead-staffer-while-in