On the June 24 edition of his nationally syndicated radio program, discussing the reported suicide of an Israeli police officer that occurred as French President Nicolas Sarkozy was preparing to depart Israel at an event attended by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Michael Savage said: “Now, I have learned -- and whether it's corroboratable at this point, I don't know -- but it's coming to me from Israel that the people in Israel are skeptical of this story.” Savage added: “There is speculation that there was an attempt to kill Olmert because he has sold the country down the river, and he is selling the people to their death -- he is leading them to the gas chamber. He is a -- the equivalent of those who led the Jews into the gas chambers in World War II, according to many Israelis who see the handwriting on the wall.”

During the program, Savage referred to Sarkozy's wife, Carla Bruni, as “a model slut.” Savage later said of Bruni: "[T]his girl used her instincts that she used to get ahead in the world of having sex with one famous man after another, until eventually she landed on Easy Street -- or shall I say -- until she landed on the Champs-Élysées. So she used her sexuality and her guile to get where she is, and the minute there was danger, she didn't hug her husband and protect him. That chick got on those steps and ran for her life."

Talk Radio Network, which syndicates Savage's show, claims that Savage is heard on more than 350 radio stations. The Savage Nation reaches at least 8.25 million listeners each week, according to Talkers Magazine, making it one of the most listened-to talk radio shows in the nation, behind only The Rush Limbaugh Show and The Sean Hannity Show.

From the June 24 edition of Talk Radio Network's The Savage Nation:

SAVAGE: Mrs. Sarkozy, this Carla Bruni, the model slut, ran up the steps à la Jackie Kennedy, ditching her husband, leaving him at the bottom of the steps. All the years on the runway gave her some good -- good sprinting capacity. She sprinted out of the line of fire. He was stunned, didn't know what happened, they didn't really hear the shot, they -- they whisk them up on the plane. Then Olmert, the president [sic] of Israel, and [Israeli President Shimon] Peres are put on the plane to tell them that an Israeli border guard who was guarding them committed suicide.

[...]

SAVAGE: I'll read you this story from The Jerusalem Post. “No one on the tarmac heard the shot that ended a border policeman's life a few hundred meters away from the leaders of Israel and France at Ben-Gurion Airport on Tuesday. But security agents, fearing an assassination attempt, scrambled into action after news of the unexpected development reached them via their radio earpieces. The incident took place as French President Nicolas Sarkozy boarded a flight back to Paris, concluding a three-day visit to the region. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and [President] Shimon Peres had accompanied Sarkozy to the airport. A military band greeted the leaders, and a picture-perfect ceremony commenced, marking the end of an important state visit seen by many as symbolizing the increasingly warm relations between Jerusalem and Paris. Within seconds of his bodyguards learning that a shot had been fired nearby, Olmert found himself surrounded by dark-suited Shin Bet agents who whisked him into a bullet-proof vehicle. Peres was rushed into a second secure vehicle. The bodyguards were following emergency procedure as spokesman for Peres' security entourage later explained.

”On the stairs leading up to Sarkozy's plane, alarmed French security guards escorted Sarkozy aboard the aircraft. Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the French Premier's [sic] wife, ran up the stairs ahead of him. The French president waited for more news on the plane. Minutes passed before word reached Olmert that the shooting occurred on the outer security perimeter around the farewell ceremony. There was no assassination attempt, the Shin Bet told the prime minister. After receiving the all-clear, Olmert and Peres boarded the plane to inform Sarkozy of what had transpired. Suicide was the likely cause of death for the border policeman" -- yeah -- “struck by his own bullet while guarding the departure ceremony, a border police spokesman said.” Spokesman said, “According to the preliminary results of a forensic mobile lab on the scene, the signs point to suicide.”

The spokesmouth stressed that, quote, “the investigation has not yet ended.” The spokesmouth went on, “These are the first results we've gotten back from the scene.” “Police did not release further details of the officer's identity in the hours following the shooting.”

Now, I have learned -- and whether it's corroboratable at this point, I don't know -- but it's coming to me from Israel that the people in Israel are skeptical of this story, number one. That the border guard was a Druze, number two. There is speculation that there was an attempt to kill Olmert because he has sold the country down the river, and he is selling the people to their death -- he is leading them to the gas chamber. He is a -- the equivalent of those who led the Jews into the gas chambers in World War II, according to many Israelis who see the handwriting on the wall. The speculation in Israel is that this was an internal attempt to knock off Olmert by a border policeman who was found on the roof with a scope rifle and then he was executed and thrown off the roof, or after he was executed by a guard who caught him, he fell off the roof. We'll never know what really happened. We'll never know what really happened, but I'll ask you -- what do you think really happened? Do you believe the official story? Or do you believe that this was an assassination attempt that is being covered up?

[...]

SAVAGE: Frank, I was not very impressed with the security guys ushering Olmert away and the security guys ushering the French leader away. They looked like amateurs. It didn't look to me like the old-guard type of security guys that I, you know, used to say, “these guys are supermen” -- they didn't look very efficient to me and very, very protective. In other words, the world leaders, right after this occurred, looked more vulnerable than you would imagine.

CALLER: Yeah, you'd think they would have slammed them to the ground or threw them in the car and took out their guns --

SAVAGE: They didn't do that. I'm telling you, Frank, the whole thing is weird. And then Carla Bruni, running up the steps like Jackie Kennedy? It gave me a chill up my spine.

CALLER: That -- that was -- that was amazing.

SAVAGE: And I don't mean because she has a good -- a good derrière. I mean, because this girl used her instincts that she used to get ahead in the world of having sex with one famous man after another, until eventually she landed on Easy Street -- or shall I say -- until she landed on the Champs-Élysées. So she used her sexuality and her guile to get where she is, and the minute there was danger, she didn't hug her husband and protect him. That chick got on those steps and ran for her life, but there was no security protecting her. If you look at that video on my website, you'll see she's running up the steps without any backup. There's no one behind her. It's amazing to me, Frank.

CALLER: Well, she is Italian, and she's probably heard the shots before and knows what to do.

SAVAGE: [laughs] Oh, man, you got me there.

Zachary Aronow is an intern at Media Matters for America.