All the Things that MSNBC Is

Past performance is no guarantee of future results:

Government records obtained by The Associated Press indicate that Sharpton and his business entities owe nearly $1.5 million in overdue taxes and associated penalties.

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Sharpton’s own debts include $365,558 owed in New York City income tax and $931,397 in unpaid federal income tax, according to a lien filed by the Internal Revenue Service last spring. His for-profit company, Rev. Al Communications, owes the state another $175,962 in delinquent taxes.

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The 53-year-old minister has been assailed over his career for running up big tax debts and failing to abide by rules governing his charities and election committees. He is perpetually being sued for failing to pay his bills.

In December, Sharpton revealed that as many as 10 of his associates had received grand jury subpoenas. A person familiar with the investigation told the AP that the FBI and IRS are probing whether Sharpton or his organization committed tax crimes or violations related to his 2004 presidential campaign, during which he was forced to return public matching funds for breaking fundraising rules.

—“Sharpton owes nearly $1.5 million in back taxes,” headline, NBC News.com(!), May 9, 2008.

“I’m a big fan of the Reverend Sharpton. I’ve known him quite a bit. he’s smart. He’s entertaining. He’s experienced. He’s thoughtful. He’s provocative, all the things I think that MSNBC is.”

—Phil Griffin, president of NBC’s MSNBC cable channel, appearing on NPR’s All Things Considered program, September 16th, 2011.

At Hot Air, Guy Benson writes that today, “Al Sharpton and his organizations owe $4.7 million in unpaid taxes:”

Sharpton — a prominent hoax perpetrator, race riot fomenter, and alleged drug trade-enabler-turned-FBI informant — insists the actual sum he owes is “significantly less” than public records indicate, and that the debts are “being paid down.”  The MSNBC host is, naturally, an ardent advocate for raising taxes on “the rich.”  Here he is holding forth on wealthy people’s duty to “sacrifice,” and (deliciously) attacking Mitt Romney for, er, not paying enough in taxes:

I understand the Machiavellian reasons why NBC hired Sharpton as a newsreader (in the very loosest sense of the term), after he torpedoed then-MSNBC host Don Imus’s career in 2007. As the protagonist of Barack Obama’s favorite movie once said, “keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.” While he’s on the MSNBC payroll, Sharpton won’t be blowing up anyone at NBC again. But why didn’t Griffin say, “OK, we’ll hire you, Al. But we want a rider in your contract to ensure your tax bill is being paid down.”

Oh wait — it’s NBC we’re talking about here. Laws are for the little people, and Republicans.

Related: “Go home, MSNBC. You’re drunk.”

Also Related: “Greedy Robert Redford Sues to Avoid Tax Bill,” John Nolte writes at Breitbart.com. “Instead of waiting for Congress to increase his taxes, Redford should live the change he desires and just cut a check.”