Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Widower: Delete Trump Tweets Suggesting Wife Was Murdered
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
May 26, 2020

Share

WASHINGTON — 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.

“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.

In a statement, Twitter said it was “deeply sorry about the pain these statements, and the attention they are drawing, are causing the family.”

But the company did not say it would do anything about Trump’s Tweets or mention them directly.

Photo fo President Donald Trump
President Donald Trump speaks during a Memorial Day ceremony at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, Monday, May 25, 2020, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump Has Long Feuded With Scarborough

“We’ve been working to expand existing product features and policies so we can more effectively address things like this going forward, and we hope to have those changes in place shortly,” Twitter said.

In general, Twitter has taken 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.

DON'T MISS

Russia Urges Citizens to Leave Israel as Tensions with Hezbollah Escalate

DON'T MISS

Taxpayers in 24 States Will Be Able to File Their Returns Directly With the IRS in 2025

DON'T MISS

California Collects Millions in Stolen Wages, but Can’t Find Many Workers to Pay Them

DON'T MISS

Sweet Lola on the Mend, Ready for a Forever Home

DON'T MISS

Houthis Vow Retaliation Against US for Yemen Airstrikes

DON'T MISS

Chavez-Quintero Debate: How Would You Rate City-County Cooperation?

DON'T MISS

Biden Talks Election, Economy and Middle East in Surprise News Briefing

DON'T MISS

Big Money Rolling in from Commercial Builders for Local School Bond Measure Campaigns

DON'T MISS

Behind the Scenes at Fresno Chaffee Zoo’s Sea Lion Cove: A Flipper-tastic Adventure

DON'T MISS

Clovis Daytime Burglary: 2 Suspects Arrested, 1 at Large

UP NEXT

Clovis Daytime Burglary: 2 Suspects Arrested, 1 at Large

UP NEXT

Tulare County Teen Arrested for School Shooting Threat

UP NEXT

Chemical Smoke Spewing From a Georgia Factory Is Projected to Spread Toward Atlanta as Winds Shift

UP NEXT

Hurricane Helene’s Death Toll Passes 150 as Crews Search for Survivors

UP NEXT

81-Year-Old South Korean Falls Short in Bid to Become Oldest Miss Universe Contestant

UP NEXT

Traffic Stop Leads to Cocaine Bust on Highway 99

UP NEXT

Will an October Surprise Shake Up the Trump-Harris Race?

UP NEXT

US Is Sending a Few Thousand More Troops to the Middle East to Boost Security

UP NEXT

Satellite Service DirecTV Buys Rival Dish as It Fights the Onslaught of Streaming Services

UP NEXT

Supplies Rushed to Communities Isolated by Helene as Death Toll Hits 121

Sweet Lola on the Mend, Ready for a Forever Home

20 hours ago

Houthis Vow Retaliation Against US for Yemen Airstrikes

1 day ago

Chavez-Quintero Debate: How Would You Rate City-County Cooperation?

1 day ago

Biden Talks Election, Economy and Middle East in Surprise News Briefing

1 day ago

Big Money Rolling in from Commercial Builders for Local School Bond Measure Campaigns

1 day ago

Behind the Scenes at Fresno Chaffee Zoo’s Sea Lion Cove: A Flipper-tastic Adventure

1 day ago

Clovis Daytime Burglary: 2 Suspects Arrested, 1 at Large

1 day ago

Trump Stalled California Wildfire Aid? Ex-Aide Reveals Political Motive

1 day ago

Costa Bill Opens Grants for Heavy Manufacturers to Start Using Hydrogen

1 day ago

Watch: Fresno County Supervisor District 3 Debate

1 day ago

Russia Urges Citizens to Leave Israel as Tensions with Hezbollah Escalate

Russia has advised its citizens to leave Israel amid rising tensions with Hezbollah and Iran, reports Newsweek. Moscow’s ambassador to...

16 hours ago

16 hours ago

Russia Urges Citizens to Leave Israel as Tensions with Hezbollah Escalate

19 hours ago

Taxpayers in 24 States Will Be Able to File Their Returns Directly With the IRS in 2025

19 hours ago

California Collects Millions in Stolen Wages, but Can’t Find Many Workers to Pay Them

20 hours ago

Sweet Lola on the Mend, Ready for a Forever Home

1 day ago

Houthis Vow Retaliation Against US for Yemen Airstrikes

Challenger Luis Chavez and incumbent supervisor Sal Quintero debate in Fresno, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024.
1 day ago

Chavez-Quintero Debate: How Would You Rate City-County Cooperation?

1 day ago

Biden Talks Election, Economy and Middle East in Surprise News Briefing

1 day ago

Big Money Rolling in from Commercial Builders for Local School Bond Measure Campaigns

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend