MSNBC suspended “Morning Joe” anchor and former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough for two days over reports that Scarborough gave to political campaigns without permission.
In a statement, MSNBC President Phil Griffin said Scarborough will be suspended for two days without pay. Scarborough, Griffin says, gave eight contributions of $500 each to local candidates in Florida between 2004 and 2008.
It’s the same punishment doled out to “Countdown” host Keith Olbermann earlier this month, after he acknowledged giving a few thousand dollars to three Congressional candidates. (There are reports, however, that MSNBC paid Olbermann during his suspension.)
MSNBC’s policy is that its employees cannot make political donations without notifying Griffin beforehand and getting permission.
Scarborough said in a statement that the donations were made to “my brother and three longtime family friends.”
“To be blunt, I had no interest in their campaigns other than being kind to longtime friends,” he said. “Because the contributions involved local, non-competitive races — and were given for personal rather than political reasons — I mistakenly believed I did not need approval from MSNBC. I also apologize for that oversight.”
He also apologized to the network.
As in the Olbermann incident, it was Politico that originally “found evidence” of the donations.
Scarborough served as a Republican in the U.S. House from 1995 to 2001, when he resigned.