As if the confirmation process for Supreme Court justices could not sink any lower, now we've got conspiracy theories running rampant.

NBC News reporter Leigh Ann Caldwell tweeted yesterday morning: 

Note two things.  First, the words "negotiations" and "assurances" mean, unambiguously, that Caldwell is alleging a deal -- retirement now in return for the choice of the successor.  Knowing Justice Kennedy personally from a year in his Constitutional Law class, I would be astonished and horrified if he actually did that.  Second, this is rank hearsay.  There is a reason that hearsay is generally inadmissible as evidence.

Caldwell then followed up:  "I've deleted this tweet because it incorrectly implies a transactional nature in Kennedy's replacement."  I would say "implies" is an understatement, but I won't quibble about that.  Justice Kennedy may or may not have made recommendations to President Trump about a successor.  There would be nothing wrong with doing that.  The accusation that he struck a deal was reckless and irresponsible.

But you can't unring the bell.  Even though the original tweet is deleted, the rumor continues to run wild.