Did Joe Scarborough Murder Lori Klausutis? Reflections of a Guilty Conscience
OK, now this is funny.
apparently, MSNBC’s conservative star (and former congressman) joe Scarborough was trying to push the discredited rumors about Sestak being offered a job by the White House in exchange for dropping out of the race, claiming media bias. markos Moulitsas, founder of Daily Kos, took issue with this on twitter, and called out Scarborough:
markos: Like story of a certain dead intern. RT @JoeNBC: Luckily for the White House, the media has been negligent on this story since Day 1.
Scarborough flipped his lid:
JoeNBC: @markos Unbelievable. You have a long history of spreading lies suggesting I am a murderer. This is the 3rd or 4th time by my count.
Markos: @JoeNBC, I’ve never suggested you’re a murderer. I’ve noted media hypocrisy in going after Gary Condit. But he was Dem. You aren’t.
JoeNBC: Anyone in media who interviews @markos, know that you’re extending your credibility to someone who regularly suggests that I’m a murderer.
Markos: A bit touchy, @JoeNBC? Links for where I accuse you of being a murderer please.
This led to Moulitsas being banned from MSNBC.
Joe is touchy because he has a VERY GUILTY CONSCIENCE. Let’s travel back in time to 2001:
A young female employee of one of Florida’s Congressmen had died unexpectedly in the Congressman’s office. There were no witnesses to her death and the cause of death was not apparent. Klausutis’ boss, Joe Scarborough had recently resigned from Congress prematurely and unexpectedly, amid rumors about his marital fidelity and soon after a divorce. He had also abruptly resigned as publisher of the Independent Florida Sun, claiming that resigning from Congress and as publisher was necessary to spend more time with his sons…
[O]n Friday, July 20th, the body of Lori Klausutis, 28, was found slumped next to a desk on the floor of Florida Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough’s Fort Walton Beach office where Lori had served as a constituent services coordinator since May, 1999. Her body was found around 8:00 a.m. on Friday morning by a couple arriving for an appointment. She had been dead for some time. A second employee, who would have normally arrived for work at around the same time, was away on vacation…
And get THIS: the guy who did the autopsy had a history of falsifying reports, and had his license revoked. TWICE:
Michael Berkland, it turns out, has a very interesting background himself. Recently relocated to Florida, it is a matter of public record that Dr. Berkland’s medical license in the state of Missouri was revoked in 1998 as a result of Berkland reporting false information regarding brain tissue samples in a 1996 autopsy report. Berkland does not deny the charges.
It’s also a matter of public record that he was suspended from his position as Medical Examiner in the State of Florida in July, 1999.
In fact, Berkland later admitted to lying about the circumstances of Klausutis’s death:
Family members, angered at what they considered unfair and exploitive coverage wrote the editor of the Northwest Florida Daily News, Ralph Routon, saying “For those who knew Lori, the thought of suicide, as your published reports suggested, is absolutely unthinkable. Suicide was contrary to her faith and being. She did not suffer from seizures, nor did she have a history of medical problems.” Meanwhile, the final report has been issued that Lori died as a result of a blow to the head because an undiagnosed heart condition caused her to collapse and fall, hitting her head on the desk.
The initial reports from the Medical Examiner’s office denied any trauma to the body that would indicate cause of death. But Berkland acknowledged on Monday, August 6th, that Lori had sustained a “scratch and a bruise” on her head and that his original denials were to prevent undue speculation about the cause of death. “The last thing we wanted was 40 questions about a head injury”, he said.
No wonder Joe Scarborough’s getting so freaked out: he must feel like the narrator of Poe’s “The Telltale Heart” every time he hears that name.
Dead girl, philandering congressman’s office, head trauma… it has all the makings of a political scandal that Scarborough managed to sidestep. No wonder he’s scared of Markos Moulitsas: some reporter might go prying around and eventually find out exactly what happened.
