ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos has given $75,000 to the Clinton Foundation in recent years, charitable contributions that he did not publicly disclose while reporting on the Clintons or their nonprofit organization, the On Media blog has learned.
In 2012, 2013 and 2014, Stephanopoulos made $25,000 donations 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."
Seriously though, did anyone think for one second that Stephanopolous was being the least bit objective when reporting on anything having to do with the Clintons?
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."
ABC News later told the On Media blog that it would not take any punitive action against Stephanopoulos: "We accept his apology," a spokesperson said. "It was an honest mistake."
Sorry, but I just can't get all worked up over this. I mean, had Stephanopolous not made any donations to the Clinton Foundation, do we honestly believe he would acted any differently towards guests critical of Bill or Hillary Clinton? Heck, it's because of the Clintons that Stephanopolous has the wherewithal to make sizable donations to charities. I highly doubt he's forgotten that.
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