MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell tried to weasel his way out of reporting fake news about President Trump colluding with Russian oligarchs, by ‘apologizing’ on air Thursday night. However, Eric Trump says it’s too late, and warned O’Donnell that he will face legal action over the slur.
O’Donnell essentially did the bare minimum in an effort to avoid legal consequences, saying “I should not have said it on-air or posted it on Twitter. I was wrong to do so.”
“Last night on this show, I discussed information that wasn’t ready for reporting. I repeated statements a single source told me about the president’s finances and loan documents with Deutsche Bank saying ‘if true’—as I discussed the information – was simply not good enough,” he said.
“I did not go through the rigorous verification and standards process here at MSNBC before repeating what I heard from my source. Had it gone through that process, I would not have been permitted to report it. I should not have said it on-air or posted it on Twitter. I was wrong to do so.” he added.
WATCH: Lawrence O'Donnell retracts his reporting about Trump loans. pic.twitter.com/JxNsIPhBNg
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 29, 2019
Had O’Donnell stopped there, it may have been enough to avoid further action, but because he’s a Trump deranged leftist, he simply could let it lie, stating “We don’t know whether the information is inaccurate. The fact is we do know it wasn’t ready for broadcast and for that I apologize.”
Eric Trump, on behalf of the Trump organization, tweeted at Lawrence that he and MSNBC better lawyer up:
This was a reckless attempt to slander our family and smear a great company. Apologies are not enough when the true intent was solely to damage and cause harm. As a company, we will be taking legal action. This unethical behavior has to stop. @Lawrence @MSNBC https://t.co/i4X6CcdkCm
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) August 29, 2019
The President also had some choice words for O’Donnell, and a stark warning to the rest of the media:
Crazy Lawrence O’Donnell, who has been calling me wrong from even before I announced my run for the Presidency, even being previously forced by NBC to apologize, which he did while crying, for things he said about me & The Apprentice, was again forced to apologize, this time…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2019
….for the most ridiculous claim of all, that Russia, Russia, Russia, or Russian oligarchs, co-signed loan documents for me, a guarantee. Totally false, as is virtually everything else he, and much of the rest of the LameStream Media, has said about me for years. ALL APOLOGIZE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2019
Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti says the case against O’Donnell and MSNBC is clear cut:
Trump's lawyer asserts that @Lawrence O'Donnell's statement that "Russian oligarchs" co-signed Trump's Deutsche Bank loans is false and that some publicly available bank documents prove that Trump is the sole guarantor.
This could be a viable defamation claim by Trump. https://t.co/pK7yMeHdzB
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) August 28, 2019
Others noted that Dan Rather was fired over less:
Dan Rather lost his job over less. But cool guys, keep going after chicken restaurants and Facebook users. https://t.co/ElcAKvqTO7
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) August 29, 2019
Looks like it’s Buh bye for crazy Lawrence.
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