Twitter will not remove Donald Trump’s tweets accusing MSNBC host Joe Scarborough of murder. Despite numerous calls to take action against the President’s false allegations, the company will do nothing.
President Trump has repeatedly pushed an unfounded claim that former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough is responsible for the death of an intern, Lori Klausutis.
Her widower, T.J. Klausutis, wrote to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey asking him to do something about the President’s tweets. On Tuesday, the company confirmed it would not remove them.
“The President of the United States has taken something that does not belong to him — the memory of my dead wife — and perverted it for perceived political gain,” Klausutis wrote.
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“There has been a constant barrage of falsehoods, half-truths, innuendo and conspiracy theories since the day she died. I realize that may sound like an exaggeration, unfortunately it is the verifiable truth. Because of this, I have struggled to move forward with my life.”
T.J. Klausutis to @Jack: "The President of the United States has taken something that does not belong to him — the memory of my dead wife — and perverted it for perceived political gain." He wants Twitter to delete Trump's tweets accusing @JoeNBC of murder https://t.co/aCqCLgXOAJ
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) May 26, 2020
The letter was sent to Dorsey on Thursday but its contents only became public on Tuesday. Dorsey had not replied to Klausutis’ letter when media reported on it.
Separately, prominent tech journalist Kara Swisher published an op-ed in Tuesday’s New York Times calling on Twitter to “cleanse the Trump stain”
“Yes, Twitter, Lori Klausutis certainly does deserve better, nearly two decades after she died in a tragic accident that has morphed into a macabre and continuing nightmare for her husband, Timothy Klausutis,” Swisher wrote.
“While it is impossible to stop the endless distribution of a screenshot of the tweets, taking the original ones down would send a strong message that this behavior is not tolerated,” she said.
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Darragh Roche is a journalist covering U.S. politics and media
