Joe Scarborough, co-host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” was suspended Friday morning for two days without pay after it was revealed he made political donations to Republican candidates during the recent election cycle.
According to Politico, Scarborough admitted to giving eight previously undisclosed donations to family and friends running for state and local office, violating the network’s policy. MSNBC’s parent company, NBC, bans political contributions from its employees without specific permission from the network president.
In a statement released Friday, Scarborough said that when he realized he was in violation of the policy, he called NBC’s president Phil Griffin “and agreed with Phil’s immediate demand of a two-day suspension without pay.”
“I recognize that I have a responsibility to honor the guidelines and conditions of my employment, and I regret that I failed to do so in this matter,” said Scarborough. “I apologize to MSNBC and to anyone who has been negatively affected by my actions.”
Scarborough’s suspension comes two weeks after another MSNBC host, Keith Olbermann was suspended indefinitely for making contributions to three Democratic candidates. Olbermann’s suspension however, was subsequently shortened to two days.
As Joe recognizes, it is critical that we enforce our standards and policies,” said Griffin in a statement.