NBC “Today” show correspondent and journalist Miguel Almaguer has been suspended after disappearing from the network for 11 days and is under investigation for his explosive reporting concerning Paul Pelosi’s brutal hammer attack that was quickly retracted.
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Almaguer appeared in a video report intimating that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband didn’t indicate that he was in danger when police showed up at his San Francisco home right before he was assaulted with a hammer.
The Daily Beast’s Confider newsletter broke the story that the correspondent had been suspended over the report. Many were perplexed that immediately after the piece was posted online it simply disappeared from view. The action raised a myriad of questions asking exactly why NBC did that and subsequently hushed up an award-winning reporter over the Pelosi story.
In the now-deleted clip, it was reported that Paul Pelosi, 82, answered the door when police arrived in response to a 911 call. They were “seemingly unaware they had been called to the home of the speaker of the House,” according to the report.
Pelosi failed to “declare an emergency” or try to leave despite it being reported his life was in danger by the unhinged intruder, David DePape. He then purportedly walked back toward his attacker as police entered the residence. DePape had broken into the home carrying a hammer, sources told NBC.
The report cited sources familiar with the attack and said it was unclear what Pelosi’s mental state was at the time or if he had already been hurt. That report directly contradicted court documents filed in the case that stated Pelosi “nervously but calmly greeted” officers in a dimly lit foyer where both men were standing.
Not long after going live, the report was removed with the vaguest of explanations, “The piece should not have aired because it did not meet NBC News reporting standards.”
Many contended the scrubbed story smacked of a cover-up by the media and the Pelosis. There is still not a solid storyline concerning what happened that night and a lot of questions remain unanswered.
Paul Pelosi was hit in the head with a hammer multiple times and had to have surgery for a fractured skull. He is now recovering at home.
“We don’t comment on personnel matters,” NBC News spokesman Stephen Labaton told Confider when he was asked about Almaguer. The reporter himself is evidently not speaking to anyone currently about the incident.
“NBC News must be more transparent with its viewers about this error. Who wrote Miguel’s script? Who approved the script? Are he and his producers suspended during an internal investigation? NBC’s silence on this matter speaks volumes. NBC owes it to its audience to be truthful and not cover this up,” a former NBC executive told Fox News.
On Monday, Fourth Watch editor Steve Krakauer, a former NBC page who has been highly critical of NBC News’ handling of the incident, noticed that Almaguer had been absent since the report was retracted.
“It has been 10 days since @Miguelnbc went on NBC and delivered his Paul Pelosi report, that was ‘expired’ hours later. He hasn’t been seen or heard from since, on TV or social media. Miguel like this tweet or show some other sign that you’re ok!” Krakauer tweeted.
xemptyzAnother NBC News insider was stunned that the story got through editors in the first place, asserting he “couldn’t believe they’d follow a conspiracy theory days after it was disproven,” according to Fox News.
A third NBC News insider told the media outlet that something “shady” must have happened.