In a statement addressed to the viewers of Countdown, Keith Olbermann offers his gratitude for his viewers' "extraordinary and ground-rattling support" but blasts NBC for mishandling his mistaken violation of "an inconsistently applied rule" about the approval process for political donations. In the statement (included in full below), Olbermann says NBC overreacted, suspending him after first privately assuring him that he would not be suspended.
Note also that Olbermann takes an implicit shot at Joe Scarborough in his statement:
I did not make them through a relative, friend, corporation, PAC, or any other intermediary, and I did not blame them on some kind of convenient 'mistake' by their recipients.
Scarborough, of course, claimed that his donation of $5,000 to an Alabama Republican was mistakenly attributed to him and should have been instead contributed under his wife's name -- an excuse that didn't pass the smell test given that Scarborough had headlined a fundraiser in the state.
Keith will be back on air tomorrow, and no doubt we'll all be watching -- but we won't forget what MSNBC's top brass tried to do him.
Here's the statement in full, and you can also join the conversation in Ubiquitous A's recommended diary on this topic.
A STATEMENT TO THE VIEWERS OF COUNTDOWN
by Keith Olbermann
I want to sincerely thank you for the honor of your extraordinary and ground-rattling support. Your efforts have been integral to the remedying of these recent events, and the results should remind us of the power of
individuals spontaneously acting together to correct injustices great or small. I would also like to acknowledge with respect the many commentators and reporters, including those with whom my politics do not overlap, for their support.
I also wish to apologize to you viewers for having precipitated such anxiety and unnecessary drama. You should know that I mistakenly violated an inconsistently applied rule – which I previously knew nothing about – that pertains to the process by which such political contributions are approved by NBC. Certainly this mistake merited a form of public acknowledgment and/or internal warning, and an on-air discussion about the merits of limitations on such campaign contributions by all employees of news organizations. Instead, after my representative was assured that no suspension was contemplated, I was suspended without a hearing, and learned of that suspension through the media.
You should also know that I did not attempt to keep any of these political contributions secret; I knew they would be known to you and the rest of the public. I did not make them through a relative, friend, corporation, PAC, or any other intermediary, and I did not blame them on some kind of convenient 'mistake' by their recipients. When a website contacted NBC about one of the donations, I immediately volunteered that there were in fact three of them; and contrary to much of the subsequent reporting, I immediately volunteered to explain all this, on-air and off, in the fashion MSNBC desired.
I genuinely look forward to rejoining you on Countdown on Tuesday, to begin the repayment of your latest display of support and loyalty - support and loyalty that is truly mutual.
--K.O.
