MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell exposed Ted Sampley's anti-McCain attacks

As a guest on MSNBC's Scarborough Country (with guest host Pat Buchanan), MSNBC senior political analyst Lawrence O'Donnell exposed Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry co-founder Ted Sampley's attacks on Senator John McCain (R-AZ) in 2000, which Media Matters for America has previously documented.

From the August 10 edition of MSNBC's Scarborough Country:

BUCHANAN: What did they say?

O'DONNELL: Ted -- Ted --

BUCHANAN: What did they ...

O'DONNELL: Ted, after you were convicted of assault and battery on a Senator McCain staffer and you said that Senator John McCain was a member of the KGB, is there anything about that that you'd like to retract to show us what journalistic standards you want to use today?

SAMPLEY: If you would like to invite me on this show to talk about John McCain, let's do it. I can back everything I say about -- I'm here to talk about --

O'DONNELL: We have to talk about you.

SAMPLEY: I'm here to talk about John Kerry.

O'DONNELL: When you come forward to criticize someone else, we then have to talk about you.

SAMPLEY: Let's ask about --

O'DONNELL: You said John McCain -- you said John McCain was brainwashed and is a "Manchurian Candidate" and is an agent of another government. That's who we now have. That's who we're sharing this broadcast with right now.

SAMPLEY: Let's ask about --

O'DONNELL: You've said those things, haven't you?

SAMPLEY: Let's ask about John Kerry in Kansas in 1971.

— C.R.

Posted to the web on Wednesday, August 11, 2004 at 06:50 PM ET