Kristen Welker, the host of NBC's “Meet the Press,” finds herself caught at the center of a potential lie. Allegations have surfaced suggesting that Welker misled her audience regarding her knowledge and involvement in the hiring of former Republican National Committee (RNC) chairwoman, Ronna McDaniel, as a paid NBC News contributor.

During a “Meet the Press” segment on Sunday, Welker introduced McDaniel for an interview, clarifying to the audience that the interview had been arranged weeks before the announcement of McDaniel's new role at NBC News.

Welker emphasized her lack of involvement in McDaniel's hiring, stating, “This interview was scheduled weeks before it was announced that McDaniel would become a paid NBC News contributor. This will be a news interview. And I was not involved in her hiring.”

However, a Politico report now challenges Welker's assertions, indicating that the narrative presented to the audience might not fully align with the behind-the-scenes realities.

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According to the report, sources close to McDaniel are dissatisfied with Welker's portrayal of events. Specifically, Politico reviewed text messages from Carrie Budoff Brown, NBC News Senior Vice President of Politics, revealing that Brown and Welker had met with McDaniel in mid-February, shortly after Brown reached out to McDaniel's team about the potential contributor role.

The meeting, described as a “get-to-know-you and off-the-record conversation,” reportedly touched upon the possibility of McDaniel joining NBC News as a contributor. This has raised questions about the extent of Welker's knowledge and her involvement in the early stages of discussions regarding McDaniel's hiring.

An NBC insider, however, countered the narrative, insisting that Welker's participation in the meeting was strictly to discuss the potential for an initial interview on “Meet the Press” and was not related to any discussions about a contributor agreement. According to the insider, “Kristen was not part of those talks. She was fenced off and insulated from discussions about a potential contributor agreement.”

“She was fenced off and insulated from discussions about a potential contributor agreement,” the insider added.

The decision to bring McDaniel on board clearly did not sit well with many within the NBCUniversal editorial staff. McDaniel was shortly fired from NBC after tensions reached a boiling point earlier this week. High-profile MSNBC personalities, including Rachel Maddow, Jen Psaki, Nicolle Wallace, Joy Reid, and Joe Scarborough, all publicly expressed their disagreement with the network's decision.

Maddow, one of MSNBC's main figures, likened the decision to “putting a mobster to work in a district attorney’s office.”

“I find the decision to put her on the payroll inexplicable, and I hope they will reconsider that decision,” Maddow said during her weekly program.

“This isn't about Republican versus Democrat. This isn't about red versus blue. This is about truth versus lies. Service to the country versus service to one man committed to toppling our democratic system,” Jen Psaki said about the hiring of McDaniel. “That is the type of experience that Ronna McDaniel brings to the table.”

In February, McDaniel stepped down following three dismal years of party fundraising and pressure by former President Trump, who privately lamented the party’s lack of focus on election integrity. Michael Whatley, a top Trump ally and leader of the North Carolina Republican Party, was joined by co-chair and daughter-in-law Lara Trump, who announced in March that the RNC had its best fundraising month in over a year.