Suspensions of hosts; Olbermann’s separation
On November 5, 2010, MSNBC President Phil Griffin suspended Olbermann indefinitely without pay for contributing $2,400 (the maximum personal donation limit) to each of three Democratic candidates during the 2010 midterm election cycle.[80] Contributions to political campaigns, under NBC News policy, are not allowed without prior permission. On November 7, 2010, Olbermann posted a thank you message to supporters via Twitter. That same day, MSNBC announced that he would be back on the air starting Tuesday, November 9.

Two weeks later, Griffin announced the suspension of Joe Scarborough for the same offense, as the Morning Joe host donated $4,000 to Republican candidates in Florida. Like Olbermann’s suspension, Scarborough’s suspension was brief, and he returned to the airwaves on November 24.

On January 21, 2011 MSNBC announced that Olbermann would host his final show that same night. Further details, including the events leading to the announcement were not provided at the time, just two and a half months after Olbermann’s 2010 suspension.