Anthony Scaramucci Takes Heat After Threatening to Sue College Student for Negative Commentary

Anthony Scaramucci, the Trump White House’s short-lived communications director and fledgling media publisher, found himself embroiled in yet another controversy of his own making on Monday after threatening to sue a college student over an editorial in the Tufts University student newspaper.

On Monday, The Tufts Daily, published a lawyer’s letter it received from the firm of Sadis & Goldberg LLP, alleging that recent commentary pieces by graduate student op-ed writer Camilo Caballero amounted to defamation of Scaramucci.

According to the letter, Scaramucci took particularly issue with Caballero’s claims that the former hedge funder and Tufts graduate was “an unethical opportunist” who “exuded the highest degree of disreputability.”

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The letter prompted the university to postpone a planned event with Scaramucci Monday evening for students of the school’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, where Scaramucci serves as a member of the Board of Advisors.

“We’re disappointed that Mr. Scaramucci has taken this action. The university has been working to facilitate a conversation that had been scheduled for Monday evening between Fletcher School students and Mr. Scaramucci about his background, experience and the petition calling for his removal from the Fletcher School Board of Advisors,” a university spokesperson told TheWrap. “In light of recent developments, we are postponing the event until these pending legal matters are resolved.”

The story lit up the peanut gallery on Twitter Sunday evening.

“Very Trumpian of @Scaramucci to threaten to sue a student for hurting his feelings and then whine when the university cools to the idea of him hanging around,” said MSNBC’s Joy Reid.

And it went from there.

Very Trumpian of @Scaramucci to threaten to sue a student for hurting his feelings and then whine when the university cools to the idea of him hanging around. https://t.co/PQSGn8ueP2

— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid 😷 (@JoyAnnReid) November 27, 2017

You know, for someone who says he wants an open debate, @Scaramucci sure excels at finding ways to act against that stated claim. https://t.co/C2AzLmeYcZ

— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) November 27, 2017

https://twitter.com/SuzanneNossel/status/935132657658286081

Like Trump, @Scaramucci threatened to sue someone without a legitimate legal basis to do so. Unlike Trump, Scaramucci went to law school and should know better. https://t.co/i6ojsSBHVc

— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) November 27, 2017

What is @Scaramucci up to? Oh, not much, just hiring expensive lawyers to threaten Tufts students with defamation pic.twitter.com/17tWIIB8rv

— Felix Salmon (@felixsalmon) November 27, 2017

The @Scaramucci defamation threats are frivolous thuggery from an unserious person and an unscrupulous attorney.

— Popehat (@Popehat) November 27, 2017

Harsh words.

And in our era of Trumpian counter-punching, they were not ones the pugilistic former communications director could pass up responding to.

Daniel I was ready to come to the school, that’s an open debate. Nobody is going to call my ethics into question without a fight. An apology will suffice. https://t.co/XWx0Q8XP6r

— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) November 27, 2017

I didn’t realize you were still alive? What happened to your career? https://t.co/Dtongs4v0L

— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) November 27, 2017

That is what I did. All I need is an apology and correction. Get the facts right. Defamation is not unflattering coverage. It’s defamation. https://t.co/EKLLAecTKh

— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) November 27, 2017

Showing your politics Joy and your typical superficiality. https://t.co/d8fLlZDNIf

— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) November 27, 2017

This is a dishonest tweet. I asked for an apology. Plain and simple. In our country defamation comes with its consequences. https://t.co/Cs64CtrV86

— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) November 27, 2017

You are entitled to your opinion but don’t politicize defamation. https://t.co/m9RbtO2tPE

— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) November 27, 2017

Scaramucci did not immediately respond to request for comment from TheWrap.

Anthony Scaramucci Out: 10 Things That Lasted Longer Than His White House Tenure (Photos)

If President Donald Trump is to be believed, the U.S. economy is making a roaring comeback. Job security, on the other hand, is a different story -- at least judging from the recent personnel tumult in the Trump administration.

On Monday, news broke that now-former Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci had been given the heave-ho after a wild ride lasting a mere 10 days. In the interest of perspective, TheWrap presents 10 things that lasted longer than the Mooch's White House gig.
Sean Spicer's run as Communications Director (once he was promoted to the role while still serving as White House press secretary). Hey, remember way back last week, when a month and a half seemed like a brief tenure as Communications Director? That was before the Mooch came along with an epic "Hold my beer" moment.
Kim Kardashian's marriage to Kris Humphries. Reality TV queen Kardashian provided plenty of late-night punchlines in 2011, when her marriage to NBA player Humphries ended with a divorce filing after 72 days. Now it looks like a marathon union, when placed next to Scaramucci's White House run.
William Henry Harrison's presidency. Harrison's presidency lasted a blink-and-you'll-miss-it 31 days before he succumbed to pneumonia, making his presidency the shortest in U.S. history. But it still managed to last three times longer than Scaamucci's White House run.
The average house fly. According to the good folks at Orkin, house flies generally live from 15 to 30 days -- still longer than the latest insect to inhabit the White House lasted.
Gary Busey's coma. "The Buddy Holly Story" star and general Hollywood curiosity Busey ended up in a coma in late 1988, after getting into a motorcycle accident. The coma lasted a relatively lengthy four weeks and change, and he probably still got more done during that time than the Mooch did in his White House run.
The Dodgers' recent winning streak. The Boys in Blue managed an 11-game victory streak from July 4 to July 19. While fans no doubt wished the streak had lasted longer, it still handily beat out the Mooch's run.
The 12 Days of Christmas. While Scaramucci's riotous White House run might have seemed like the gift that kept on giving, it was ultimately no match for this festive Christian season.
"Cavemen," the TV series. Back in 2007, ABC decided it was a good idea to air a TV series based on a GEICO ad campaign. It wasn't, and while the widely reviled series deservedly died a quick death, it still lasted longer than Scaramucci's reign.
Scaramucci's second marriage. Just days after Scaramucci's White House appointment, his wife Deidre reportedly filed for divorce from him after three years of marriage -- an eternity compared to Mooch's White House tenure, and also probably a seeming eternity in Deidre's mind.
Pope John Paul I's papacy. The former Albino Luciani's papacy came to an abrupt end little more than a month after it began following his September 1978 death. While that might seem like a short run, the abbreviated papacy, The Mooch's White House run still didn't have a prayer of beating it.

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Let us put the Mooch’s brief-but-wild stint into perspective

If President Donald Trump is to be believed, the U.S. economy is making a roaring comeback. Job security, on the other hand, is a different story -- at least judging from the recent personnel tumult in the Trump administration.

On Monday, news broke that now-former Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci had been given the heave-ho after a wild ride lasting a mere 10 days. In the interest of perspective, TheWrap presents 10 things that lasted longer than the Mooch's White House gig.

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Anthony Scaramucci Out: 10 Things That Lasted Longer Than His White House Tenure (Photos)

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