Dave Weigel Returns to The Washington Post Years After JournoList Scandal

Five years after resigning as a blogger for The Washington Post, Bloomberg Politics’ Dave Weigel has returned to the paper.

“We are very excited to announce that Dave Weigel will be joining The Post as a National Political Reporter,” the paper announced Tuesday morning. “Dave will bring his one-of-a-kind perspective and voice to our campaign team, where he will focus on the people and movements that are galvanizing so much of modern politics.”

Back in 2010, Weigel was implicated in the JournoList scandal, when it emerged that a group of progressive journalists kept an off-the-record listserv to left off steam, debate, and sometimes coordinate stories. Despite covering conservatives and the conservative movement, Weigel made a series of negative comments about national figures he was expected to cover.

Among Weigel’s more controversial comments was his saying it “would be a vastly better world to live in if Matt Drudge decided to handle his emotional problems more responsibly, and set himself on fire.” When radio host Rush Limbaugh was hospitalized with chest pains, Weigel responded, “I hope he fails.” Other conservatives Weigel insulted at the time included Newt Gingrich, Pat Buchanan, and Ron Paul supporters.

Weigel was forced to apologize but, in the words of the Post’s ombudsman “the damage was too severe to save his job” and he resigned days later. That sting appears to have worn off.

[Image via Twitter]
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