Debate Commission Claims Moderator’s Account Was Hacked

Steve Scully of C-SPAN, right, speaks during the White House Correspondents Association dinner as then-First Lady Michelle Obama listens, at the Washington Hilton hotel in Washington on May 9, 2009. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

An official for the Commission on Presidential Debates claimed on Friday that a debate moderator was hacked after the moderator posted a tweet asking a known President Donald Trump enemy for advice.

Steve Scully, a C-SPAN correspondent, was tapped for the second Trump-Joe Biden debate by the commission, which describes itself as nonpartisan and handles details of presidential debates.

Scully, however, worked for Biden, the Democratic presidential candidate, in the 1970s. He also has a history of anti-Trump animus. In 2016, he shared an opinion article that called Trump dishonest and narcissistic, among other things. On Thursday, he reached out to Anthony Scaramucci, a former White House aide who turned against Trump and disparages him on a near-daily basis on cable television.

Scully’s tweet to Scaramucci came after Trump called Scully “a never-Trumper.”

Asked about the social media post, commission Chairman Frank Fahrenkopf said on Fox News Radio on Friday that he was told Scully was hacked.

“Steve is a man of great integrity. He worked for Biden,” Fahrenkopf said. “I don’t know about this question of whether or not he tweeted something out. I do know, and you'll probably pick up on it in a minute, that he was hacked.”

The commission and C-Span didn’t respond to requests for comment.

C-Span said in a statement that Scully “did not originate the tweet” to Scaramucci “and believes his account has been hacked.”

The commission is investigating the the help of the authorities, the broadcaster said.

Neither the commission nor C-Span provided evidence that Scully’s account was hacked.

Scully’s account was made private on Friday.

White House deputy communications director Brian Morgenstern told “Fox News @ Night” on Thursday that Scully “seems not to be very impartial.”

“I love The Mooche [Scaramucci], but he’s gone way off the deep end. He is a wild-eyed critic of the president at this point. And now to have a debate moderator seeking his advice,” he added. “I think the cat’s out of the bag. I don’t think Mr. Scully is impartial. So that really calls into question, again, the debate commission’s judgment here.”