ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos has given $50,000 to the Clinton Foundation in recent years, charitable contributions that he did not publicly disclose while reporting on the Clintons or their non-profit organization, the On Media blog has learned.
In both 2013 and 2014, Stephanopoulos made a $25,000 donation to the 501 nonprofit founded by former president Bill Clinton, the Foundation’s records show. Stephanopoulos never disclosed this information to viewers, even when interviewing author Peter Schweizer last month about his book “Clinton Cash,” which alleges that donations to the Foundation may have influenced some of Hillary Clinton’s actions as Secretary of State.
In a statement to the On Media blog on Thursday, Stephanopoulos apologized and said that he should have disclosed the donations to ABC News and its viewers. “I made charitable donations to the Foundation in support of the work they’re doing on global AIDS prevention and deforestation, causes I care about deeply,” he said. “I thought that my contributions were a matter of public record. However, in hindsight, I should have taken the extra step of personally disclosing my donations to my employer and to the viewers on air during the recent news stories about the Foundation. I apologize.”
And that, you can bet, will be that. Klassic Klinton, by the way: better to ask forgiveness than permission. And while we’re on the subject of the good old days, let’s observe that no way in hell should a partisan hack like Stephanopoulos ever have been hired by ABC News in the first place — unless, of course, ABC News is not really about news, but about partisan hackery:
Stephanopoulos is the chief anchor and chief political correspondent for ABC News, as well as the co-anchor of ABC’s “Good Morning America” and host of “This Week,” its Sunday morning public affairs program. Prior to joining ABC News, he served as communications director and senior advisor for policy and strategy to President Clinton. He also served as communications director on Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign.
In its own statement on Thursday, ABC News said it was standing behind its star anchor. “As George has said, he made charitable donations to the Foundation to support a cause he cares about deeply and believed his contributions were a matter of public record,” the network’s statement read. “He should have taken the extra step to notify us and our viewers during the recent news reports about the Foundation. He’s admitted to an honest mistake and apologized for that omission. We stand behind him.”
The contempt these people have for the American people is truly stunning. And what will the American people do about it? Absolutely nothing.
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