Episode description

This episode explores the life of Lori Klausutis, a vivacious 28-year-old who worked in a tiny office in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., as the constituent service coordinator for then-congressman Joe Scarborough. A devout Catholic who wore a “Precious Little Feet” lapel pin, a symbol for the anti-abortion movement. Klausutis was a well-liked woman who served as president of the local Young Republicans club and sang in the church choir. The podcast, relying on detailed police reports and interviews with people directly involved in the case, describes how on the afternoon of July 19, 2001, Klausutis was feeling fidgety and ill moments before she collapsed from an undiagnosed heart condition. While the police found no sign of a struggle or foul play, her death soon spurred speculation and conspiracy theories — many of them pushed by left-wing bloggers who demanded that Scarborough be subjected to the same scrutiny as then-Democratic congressman Gary Condit, who had been having an affair with missing intern Chandra Levy. The rumors that his wife had also been having an affair with her boss infuriated T.J. Klausutis, who reveals Scarborough didn’t even recognize his wife when they encountered each other. “It’s complete nonsense,” he says. “It’s just disgusting.”

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