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Senator Mitt Romney has recently condemned President Donald Trump for his recent attacks on Joe Scarborough. Scarborough, who previously served as a congressman but is now a TV host, is an outspoken critic of Trump. Trump’s recent attacks are a revival of a long-dormant conspiracy theory involving the 2001 death of Lori Klausutis. Klausutis worked in Scarborough’s office in Florida when he was a congressman.
Trump’s recent screed of tweets against Scarborough allege that the former legislator was involved in, or responsible for, Klausutis’ death. However, despite Trump’s insistence, and the insistence of vocal minority of internet trolls, Scarborough has never been seriously connected to the death. Notably, he was in Washington when his employee died in Florida, which makes his involvement incredibly unlikely.
In 2001, Scarborough’s employee Lori Klausutis passed away after blacking out and hitting her head on a desk. The official autopsy found that an abnormal heart rhythm caused her to lose consciousness, and that her fall was a freak accident. A medical examiner confirmed she had an acute blood clot, which was highly unusual for a 28-year-old woman.
However, there has ever been any serious examination of the death as being anything other than an accident. Scarborough was in Washington when Klausutis died, and the official report of her death is clear about the cause of her death.
Klausutis’ widower, TJ Klausutis, wrote to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, asking that the platform remove Trump’s tweets about his late wife. “Conspiracy theorists, including most recently the President of the United States, continue to spread their bile and misinformation on your platform disparaging the memory of my wife and our marriage,” reads Klausutis’ letter.
He notes that he would never be able to spread the kind of lies and conspiracy theories that Trump is spreading without being banished from the platform. “My wife deserves better,” concludes the letter. Notably, Trump’s line of attack includes the allegation that Scarborough and Lori Klausutis may have had an affair, which Trump alleges is a motive for murder.
Twitter has confirmed that they have no plans of removing the tweets. Even with the best password storage, and the best security solutions, Twitter claims it is unable to censor the president’s own tweets.
Mitt Romney wrote “I know Joe Scarborough. Joe is a friend of mine. I don’t know T.J. Klausutis. Joe can weather vile, baseless accusations but T.J.? His heart is breaking. Enough already.” Romney, who is already an outspoken critic of Trump, has taken issue with the president’s tone in the past.
Another Republcian, Adam Kinzinger, a representative from Illinois, took issue with Trump’s statements. In a tweet, he begged the president to drop the theory, writing “It will destroy us.”
