C-SPAN’s Steve Scully, who was set to moderate the planned October 15 debate between President
Donald Trump and former Vice President
Joe Biden, sent a tweet Thursday evening that made many in pro-Trump media question his objectivity. On Friday morning, the Commission on Presidential Debates claimed that Scully’s Twitter account had been hacked.
Around 10 p.m. on Thursday, Scully
tweeted at former Trump press secretary turned Trump critic Anthony Scaramucci, tagging him and asking, “Should I respond to Trump.”
It was unclear what Scully was reacting to, although Trump had been on a spree of questioning his impartiality as a moderator, claiming Scully was a “Never Trumper” on
Sean Hannity’s Thursday night Fox Show.
Here’s what you need to know:
It Appeared That Scully May Have Intended to Send Scaramucci a Direct Message, But Instead Tweeted & Conservative Media Pounced
When Scully tagged and tweeted at Scarmucci, apparently asking for advice on dealing with Trump’s advance criticism, Scaramucci quote-tweeted him and said, “Ignore. He’s having a hard enough time. Some more bad stuff about to go down.”
Many users posited that Scully intended to DM Scaramucci for advice, but that has not been confirmed.
Federalist editor Mollie Hemingway noted the odd exchange and called it a “horrific problem” for the debate commission.
“Moderator Steve Scully deleted this tweet,” Hemingway wrote. “Neither he nor the Presidential Debate Commission have addressed why he was asking a Trump loather for counsel on responding to Trump. Horrific problem here for the ‘independent’ debate commission, in their worst year ever.”
Donald Trump Jr., the president’s first son, was also incensed by the Twitter incident.
“Are you kidding me,” he said. “Steve Scully, the former Biden intern and moderator of the next debate, thinks he’s DM-ing … but he’s doing it out loud. Yea, totally not a setup. Journalism is dead.”
Scully did work as an intern for Biden in the 1970s, when he was in college and Biden was a senator, Scully
said in a Cable Center interview.
Heavy emailed Scully, asking for an explanation of the tweet, but not immediately receive a response.
Frank Fahrenkopf, of the Debate Commission, Told Brian Kilmeade Friday Morning That Scully Was ‘Hacked’
Speaking on Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade’s
radio show Friday morning, Frank Fahrenkopf, a co-chair of the debate commission said that Scully was a man of “great integrity” and alleged that he was hacked.
“Steve is a man of great integrity, OK?” Fahrenkopf said. “I don’t know this question about whether he tweeted something out or not, I do know, and you’ll probably pick up on it in a minute, that he was hacked… Apparently, there’s something now that’s been on television and the radio saying that he talked to Scaramucci… He was hacked. It didn’t happen.”
C-SPAN also issued a statement saying authorities were investigating the tweet, and that Scully did not “originate” it.
Scaramucci chimed back in, urging people not to “cancel” Scully over the incident.
“I accept [Scully] at his word,” he said Friday. “Let’s not cancel anymore people from our culture for absolutely something like this. It’s insignificant. He is an objective journalist.”
Fox News’ Britt McHenry
also came to Scully’s defense, calling him “one of the most honest, ethical, hardworking journalist I know.”
Skepticism generally abounded on the right, however, when it came to Fahrenkopf’s hacking claim.
Trump Jr. mocked the claim and suggested it could be “Russian or Chinese election interference.”
“If he was hacked, he should report this to the FBI ASAP,” Trump Jr. said. “If he doesn’t report it to the FBI, presumably he’s more worried about filing a false report … though they wouldn’t prosecute a Dem anyway. Which one is it, Steve?”
Journalist Yashar Ali, no fan of the president’s, also said he didn’t buy Scully’s explanation.
“This is not going to go well,” Ali said. “If he was indeed hacked, it should be very easy to prove.”
Scully did not immediately respond to Heavy’s email seeking comment.
