Trump calls C-SPAN's Scully 'a fraud,' mocks claims that Twitter account was hacked

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Debate commission co-chair: Steve Scully’s Twitter account was hacked

Frank Fahrenkopf, chairman of the Commission on Presidential Debates, addressed controversy over debate moderator Steve Scully sending out disparaging tweets on President Trump; Chris Wallace weighs in.

President Trump on Sunday lambasted C-SPAN political editor Steve Scully over claims that his Twitter account was hacked.

Trump, who appeared on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” told host Maria Bartiromo that Scully – who was slated to moderate the now-canceled second presidential debate next week – is “a fraud” and a “Never Trumper” before going on to criticize the C-SPAN host for his claims that his social media account was hacked.

“They all say they were hacked. Every time something happens where they did something… the first thing they do is they say, oh, we were hacked or we were hacked,” Trump said. “He was an act. He knows that he's ashamed. It's a shame.”

Scully has faced intense scrutiny after a tweet to Trump ally-turned-foe Anthony Scaramucci. 

The tweet from the "Washington Journal" host's account Thursday night read, "@Scaramucci should I respond to trump" and was deleted a short time later. Scaramucci, a former White House communications director in the Trump administration, has become a vocal supporter of Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

“Steve Scully notified us that his Twitter account was hacked,” the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) wrote in a statement on Twitter. “CPD reported the apparent hack to the FBI and Twitter, and we understand that the federal authorities and Twitter are looking into the issue.”

C-SPAN said Friday Scully "did not originate the tweet" and added that the CPD was investigating the incident "with the help of authorities." 

Scully deleted his account Friday, before quietly resurfacing on the platform Friday night, but locking his account so only approved followers could see his tweets. 

The debate commission selected Scully to moderate what was planned to be the second presidential debate between Trump and Biden but that debate was canceled Friday night after Trump refused to participate. The CPD had moved the town hall debate to a virtual format.

The move followed the president's coronavirus diagnosis.

Biden subsequently withdrew from the debate and has since scheduled an ABC News town hall for the night the debate was supposed to take place. 

Scully's credibility as an unbiased debate moderator was initially questioned after it became known that he previously worked as an intern for then-Sen. Biden and served as a staffer for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass. 

Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.