Sources at the network said Bashir had been temporarily suspended from the network following graphic remarks he made last month about the former governor from Alaska. In that segment, Bashir suggested that Palin should be forced to endure slavery like conditions, including the consumption of feces.

MSNBC spokesperson Lauren Skowronski told a different story: “He’s still out on vacation,” she wrote in an email. Asked multiple times when Bashir would return from vacation, Skowronski did not respond.