NBC News has suspended a correspondent who misreported the attack on Paul Pelosi. Miguel Almaguer created a segment for Today that was later retracted, and NBC News said that it did not meet the company’s reporting standards. Almaguer’s suspension was reported by The Daily Beast and confirmed by Deadline on Tuesday.
Almaguer’s retracted report aired on Nov. 4 on The Today Show, and was about Paul Pelosi’s return home from the hospital following his attack on Oct. 28. In the segment, Almaguer cited sources who questioned Paul’s mental state at the time when police arrived on the scene. After calling 911, Almaguer said that Pelosi answered the door for police but was “seemingly unaware they had been called to the home of the speaker of the House.”
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Almaguer’s report said that Paul “did not immediately declare an emergency or try to leave his home” after police arrived. The Speaker’s husband “instead began walking several feet back into the foyer toward the assailant and away from police. It’s unclear if the 82-year-old was already injured or what his mental state was, say sources.” However, an anonymous source at NBC News told Deadline that the main source cited in this report was unreliable.”
NBC News retracted Almaguer’s report later in the same day it aired, removing it from the website. A statement from the network said: “The piece should not have aired because it did not meet NBC News reporting standards.” An insider told Deadline that it was later determined that the main source was unreliable – specifically on what the police saw from their perspective and how far the attacker was from the door.
NBC News did not even confirm that this report was the reason for Almaguer’s suspension. When asked for a comment, a spokesperson said: “as a matter of practice, we do not generally comment on personnel matters.” However, it’s notable that Almaguer’s report was immediately picked up as fuel for conspiracy theorists online, and was taken as evidence of some kind of cover-up.
Unfounded conspiracy theories about the attack on Pelosi persist on social media, claiming that the alleged attacker, David DePape, was Paul’s lover and perhaps a sex worker. DePape has pleaded not guilty to the attack. He remains in custody on state and federal charges.
