Did NBC Leak the Lawrence O'Donnell Video?

The NY Post says that TV insiders believe that senior NBC staffers leaked the instantly infamous tape of Lawrence O’Donnell’s meltdown, in retaliation for his antics during contract negotiations this spring.

The video shows O’Donnell pulling off a diva act that hasn't been seen since Bill O'Reilly's "We'll do it live."

Page Six writes that sources connected with the leak tell Page Six the video was slipped to the site as a broadcast-quality digital clip — and that only a handful of people are believed to be capable of accessing and transmitting such a file. Multiple sources tell us that O’Donnell angered NBC honcho Andy Lack — who also oversees MSNBC — in May by tweeting to fans about his contract negotiations.

One TV insider called the deal-making “tense and unusually public,” while another said O’Donnell slyly generated a “groundswell of ‘save Lawrence sentiment’ ” among viewers that “backed Lack into a corner.”

A source tells us that the small number of people with access to the clip suggest it was either leaked or authorized by “someone at a senior level.”

O’Donnell said: “This is a ridiculous conspiracy theory. There’s only one person to blame for this video — me. Andy Lack brought me to MSNBC when he created the network in 1996. We were friends before that and have always remained friends.”

The New York Post and Page Six don't really understand that many people inside the network can get their hands on video like this. FTVLive really doubts this was leaked by a "high up" NBC staffer and more than likely came from someone that was in the control room while O’Donnell  was freaking out. 

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