A television reporter has apparently been punished after breaking a story on the Oct. 28 hammer attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which was later retracted.

The Daily Beast reported on Monday that NBC News had suspended Miguel Almaguer pending an inquiry.

Almaguer’s story aired on NBC’s “Today” on November 4.

At 2:30 a.m., when police responded to Pelosi’s 911 call, they were told it was a “high-priority call,” but they did not realize she was in immediate danger.

“After a ‘knock and announce,’ the front door was opened by Mr. Pelosi,” Almaguer reported. “The 82-year-old did not immediately declare an emergency or try to leave his home but 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.”

Pelosi did not battle with his accused attacker, identified as David DePape, and get a hammer blow to the head until after he had opened the door to police, according to the report.

NBC on Paul Pelosi:

“The front door was opened by Mr. Pelosi. He did not declare an emergency or try to leave his home, instead began walking several feet back towards the assailant and away from police." pic.twitter.com/PArqbcPAWB

— TheBlaze (@theblaze) November 4, 2022

According to Fox News, Almaguer’s piece was pulled from NBC News platforms within hours. On its website, the network included an editor’s notice stating, “This piece has been removed from publication because it did not meet NBC News reporting standards.”

This comment, according to TheBlaze, only aroused additional questions. “The network … did not explain what about the report failed to meet its editorial standards, nor did the company explain how the story managed to air if the story did not go through proper vetting channels.”

The Daily Beast reported that the report, which appeared to contradict previous claims from officials, stirred “right-wing media figures,” who “immediately took the report and its retraction as proof of a politically motivated cover-up—after a week of grasping at various conspiracy theories to dismiss the assault, which left Pelosi with a cracked skull.”

TheBlaze said that NBC declined to comment on what it termed internal personnel matters, although Almaguer has not been on broadcast since the story.

His profile appears to have been removed off the NBC News website, and he has not tweeted from his @MiguelNBC account since November 3.

A former top NBC News executive who had worked with Almaguer and was mentioned by Fox News as criticizing the network’s handling of the situation.

More on this story via The Western Journal:

“NBC News must be more transparent with its viewers about this error,” the unnamed former executive said. “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.”

Almaguer did not respond to a voicemail left by Fox News. CONTINUE READING…