Brian Williams suspended by NBC News for six months, investigation continues

Well, the other show has officially dropped for Brian Williams.

While it was clear that there was some sort of punishment coming to the NBC Nightly News host in the wake of some inaccurate comments he made about his time in Iraq in 2003, there was no word until now as to what the punishment would be. Williams will be suspended for six months without pay, and the investigation into his other past accounts is ongoing. Had he merely embellished his story on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” it would have been one thing. Him using this same story on his own show is what likely caused this suspension to be so extensive.

In a statement, NBC News President Deborah Turness said the following:

“We have decided today to suspend Brian Williams as Managing Editor and Anchor of NBC Nightly News for six months … The suspension will be without pay and is effective immediately. We let Brian know of our decision earlier today. Lester Holt will continue to substitute Anchor the NBC Nightly News.”

While Williams is technically still a part of NBC News, we would not be even remotely shocked if he never does another show at this point. This period of time allows Holt a chance in the anchor’s desk, and if he performs well, there may not be a reason to bring Brian back at all. This situation is still very fluid, so it is worth watching out to see whether or not Brian or NBC makes any further statements on the matter.

Now, we wonder when will be the next time that Williams speaks out about this publicly. As we reported earlier today, most of the late-night community has already dogpiled him about his commentary.

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