Prof. Russell Burgos' Twitter account disappears; Pepperdine president Andrew Benton weighs in; Update: Benton tells Twitchy, 'I.T. was my first contact after I learned about the situation'

Editor’s note: If you haven’t been following Twitchy’s coverage of Russell Burgos, please read this and this before proceeding. Thank you!

The Twitter account set up by Pepperdine University professor Russell Burgos has been deleted. This is the image that comes up when we try to view his profile:

sorry page doesnt exist

For posterity, here are some of Burgos’ deleted tweets:

http://twitter.com/#!/RussellBurgos62/status/498313280856014848

http://twitter.com/#!/RussellBurgos62/status/498313557625561088

http://twitter.com/#!/RussellBurgos62/status/498315372375052288

http://twitter.com/#!/RussellBurgos62/status/498315438565376000

http://twitter.com/#!/RussellBurgos62/status/498321986461130752

http://twitter.com/#!/RussellBurgos62/status/498326483149291521

http://twitter.com/#!/RussellBurgos62/status/498333655031615488

http://twitter.com/#!/RussellBurgos62/status/498334045768777730

Did Burgos delete his own account? If so, why?

Or does the blame lie with his mysterious “hacker”?

Things that make you go hmmm…

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In related news, Andrew K. Benton, president of Pepperdine, issued a statement to The Graphic on Monday:

“Since learning of this incident less than 48 hours ago we have been in a search for all relevant facts to understand exactly what has transpired. In any event, the phrase used in the Twitter post is so inappropriate that it is hard to even comment intelligently. Michelle is a talented alumna in whom we take pride. I suspect some might disagree with her news commentary, and that is fine, but I am stunned at the ad hominem nature of the criticism. The First Amendment certainly encourages a robust exchange of views, and there is room for disagreement in most any debate, but I simply can’t imagine using such offensive language in the process. I have spoken with Michelle and I have apologized to her. She and Pepperdine deserve better. We all are anxious to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible, objectively and dispassionately.”

Has Pepperdine’s IT department been enlisted in the search for “relevant facts”? Internet logs wouldn’t show activity from his home computer, but if Burgos has posted any comments from his work computer as “Prof B in LA” since March 2014, that would contradict what he said to Twitchy. (Prof. Burgos told Twitchy he has been unable to access that account since then.)

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The “full retard” comment was posted via Disqus. If Prof. Burgos’ account has been hacked, as he contends, we wonder if he has reached out to Disqus for assistance. Disqus’ Terms of Service state, “You must notify Disqus immediately of any breach of security or unauthorized use of your account.” We asked Burgos on Monday if he would be willing to authorize Disqus to publicly release the IP address of his “hacker.” We have not yet received a response.

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Update:

We reached out to Andrew Benton, the president of Pepperdine, via email. He tells Twitchy, “IT was my first contact after I learned about the situation last Saturday evening.”

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Michelle Fields’ former Pepperdine professor accuses her of going ‘full retard’ on Fox News; Update: Professor says it wasn’t him

Tweeter claiming to be Prof. Russell Burgos says Michelle Fields got him mixed up with someone else; Update: The real Burgos confirms Twitter account is his; Update: Burgos’ story seems to change; Updated with latest email from Burgos; Updated with new tweets from Fields

Coincidences! Prof. Russell Burgos ‘hacker’ has same talking points as Prof. Russell Burgos

Pepperdine University issues brief statement on anti-Michelle Fields comments