WASHINGTON (AP) — The husband of a woman who died accidentally in an office of then-GOP Rep. Joe Scarborough two decades ago is demanding that Twitter remove President Donald Trump’s tweets suggesting Scarborough, now a fierce Trump critic, murdered her.
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“My request is simple: Please delete these tweets,” Timothy J. Klausutis wrote to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
The body of Lori Kaye Klausutis, 28, was found in Scarborough’s Fort Walton Beach, Florida, congressional office on July 20, 2001.
Klausutis said in the letter, sent last week, that his wife had an undiagnosed heart condition, fell and hit her head on her desk at work. He called her death “the single most painful thing that I have ever had to deal with” and said he feels a marital obligation to protect her memory amid “a constant barrage of falsehoods, half-truths, innuendo and conspiracy theories since the day she died.”
Klausutis said Trump is among the conspiracy theorists spreading “bile and misinformation” on Twitter “disparaging the memory” of his wife and their marriage.
Trump’s tweets violate Twitter’s community rules and terms of service, he said.
“An ordinary user like me would be banished,” Klausutis wrote.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the letter on Tuesday. Twitter in general takes a hands-off approach to political leaders, contending that publishing controversial tweets from politicians helps hold them accountable and encourages discussion. It modified those rules last year to say that world leaders “aren’t entirely” above the rules and some tweets violating its policy could be slapped with warning labels.
Trump has long feuded with Scarborough, now a host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” show, and has repeatedly tried to implicate him in the death even though Scarborough was in Washington, not Florida, at the time.
Trump tweeted this month: “When will they open a Cold Case on the Psycho Joe Scarborough matter in Florida. Did he get away with murder? Some people think so. Why did he leave Congress so quietly and quickly? Isn’t it obvious? What’s happening now? A total nut job!”
He echoed that “cold case” allegation in a new tweet on Tuesday,
Trump also has asked via Twitter if NBC would fire the political talk show host based on the “unsolved mystery” years ago in Florida. “Investigate!” he tweeted in 2017.
But there is no mystery.
Medical officials ruled that Lori Kaye Klausutis, who had a heart condition and told friends hours earlier that she wasn’t feeling well, had fainted and hit her head. Foul play was not suspected.
Scarborough has urged the president to stop his baseless attacks.
Trump also suggested that maybe the woman and Scarborough were having an affair. What kind of sicko makes that suggestion out of thin air knowing that her parents and husband would see it.
Trump has to tweet conspiracy theories to divert attention from the 100,000 dead from the virus that he had under control which would go away in April. Third world counties handed it better than the Trump administration.
Does not occur to these guys that Trump is throwing back at them what it feels like when he (Trump) was barraged with all those falsehoods.
When a young decent looking married girl dies suddenly at the office of any man I’d be suspcious. Ask Ted Kennedy about car accidents
In the middle of the Epidemic this is the kind of drek the president of the US peddles in. What a loathsome slob he is.
What a failure of a human being our President is!
In the middle of an Epidemic this is what trump is occupied with? What a malevolent rasha he is.
Non of my business the presidents drek.
We Jews should be thankful for President Trump for what he did and is still doing.
All Shulls are widely open like before and we can Daven as we are suppose to. This is all because Trump was the right Schliach Min Hashmaiym.
“What he did” Like? 1000s of Jewish Dead because of his Gross Negligence.
what a great shaliach so many of our fellow yidden died cause of his incompetence !
Scarborough and his antiSemitke are getting it back.
This guy lied about Trump for 3 years.
First it was only 15 infected. Then it was bleach. Now the deadly epidemic is over? 100,000 DEAD AMERICANS. ARchie was a moron then and now.
. . . and has repeatedly tried to implicate him in the death even though Scarborough was in Washington, not Florida, at the time.