Media Frenzy Over ABC George Stephanopoulos' Undisclosed Clinton Foundation Donations: What about the PBS connections?

HEIDI GUTMAN/ABC VIA GETTY IMAGES
Photo from the DailyNews.com:
George Stephanopoulos interviews former President Bill Clinton
about the Clinton Global Initiative in 2014.

Prior to the release of the blockbuster book “Clinton Cash,” which since April 19 began derailing the presumptive Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign, on April 26th ABC’s George Stephanopoulos interviewed ­­ the author Peter Schweizer.

But weeks later the media went crazy because journalist Stephanopoulos had neglected to inform his viewers as well as his employer of his donations to the Clinton Foundation –– of which extreme criticism of the foundation and its donors are the focus of Schweizer’s book.


Before getting into some of the details and disaster surrounding this "Stephanopoulos Clinton Cash Scandal," I'd like to point out that my May 4 Green Corruption File divulged Stephanopoulos' donations.

Considering that Schweizer’s yet to be released book, and many of Hillary's green cronies were in the limelight at that time, I devoted Section Two of my blog with the subtitle, "Clinton Cash" Bombshell Book Opens Pandora's Box. Here is an excerpt: 

In turning the pages of a book that had yet to be released, it was the interview on Sunday's This Week (April 26) when ABC’s George Stephanopoulos aggressively interviewed Schweizer, implying, of all things, that it was a partisan hit job, that made me laugh, because Stephanopoulos is listed as a Clinton Foundation donor, giving between $50,000 to $100,000 –– some of which he did so in 2014.


Maybe he forgot.

Did he forget that, according to the Washington Post, Stephanopoulos "spent years working for the Clintons and helping to manage various scandals that arose during Bill Clinton’s campaign and first term in office?" And what about those allegations that Stephanopoulos "personally benefited from Clinton-influenced cronyism?"

End excerpt:

What’s interesting is that this Stephanopoulos mess has not only taken center stage, even out-shadowing the damning content of the “Clinton Cash” book –– released May 5 and now a New York Times bestseller  –– but it has also taken on a life of its own.

From what I gather, this scoop, which has many twist and turns, all began on Wednesday, May 13 when Andrew Stiles of the Washington Free Beacon had “spotted” the donation and contacted ABC News for a comment.

According to the Washington Post some interesting interaction occurred surrounding the Free Beacon's request for a statement: 

Despite Stiles’ best efforts, ABC News didn’t cough up a response on the spot. Heather Riley, a spokeswoman for ABC News, e-mailed Stiles just after 9 p.m., promising him “something.” “What time are you posting? Want to make sure I get it to you in time,” she wrote.  

Absent a comment from ABC News, Continetti & Co. decided to let the matter sit overnight. They just waited.

When the Washington Free Beaconers put their heads together Thursday morning, there was still no comment from ABC News.

Apparently, as Stiles, the digital managing editor and Matthew Continetti, the editor-in-chief of the Washington Free Beacon, were waiting to publish their scoop, rather than providing them with a statement as promised by 7 a.m., ABC News confirmed the donations to POLITICO’s Dylan Byers.

Also exposed by the Free Beacon is that the ABC News spokesperson, Heather Riley that " rebuffed the Free Beacon’s request for comment on Stephanopoulos’ undisclosed donations to the Clinton Foundation," it turns out, also worked in the Clinton administration.

Amusingly, Ms. Riley did provide them with a statement about 15 minutes after the acknowledgement was published at POLITICO on May 14 at 9:24 a.m.: "George Stephanopoulos discloses $75,000 contribution to Clinton Foundation."

But don’t let that headline fool you because, first off Stephanopoulos did not disclose: he was confronted. Second, despite the fact that ABC News most likely leaked this scoop toward "a friendly outlet" in an attempt to contain the damage, the story initially read “$50,000!”

Stephanopoulos had first admitted that he had give the foundation $25,000 in 2013 and the same amount in 2014 –– only to, later the afternoon of May 14, confess that he made another $25,000 contribution in 2012, during the time when Hillary was secretary of state.

OOPS!

After being busted for this breach of ethical standards, Stephanopoulos, that same day, apologized in a statement to "On Media blog" (that's the POLITICO post). This was followed by a pathetic public display on May 15 where he spent approximately 30 seconds on “Good Morning America” to publicly atone to his viewers while hiding under the "donations were a matter of public record" excuse and claiming that he's just an innocent philanthropist.

The first is true, because, after all, when I was snooping around the Clinton Foundation's donor list in an effort to expose those familiar to The Green Corruption Files for my blog, “A sneak peek into Hillary Clinton’s climate change cronies, on April 23 I had found that Stephanopoulos was listed as a donor, giving between $50,000 to $100,000 –– some of which he did so in 2014.

Even though he wasn't the target of my research for my May 4th post, due to his Clinton connections it was duly noted. A few days later, after viewing the April 26th interview where Stephanopoulos sideswiped Schweizer, it hit me: Oh my!

However, obviously, a failure to disclose this information prior to interviewing any author of the Clintons or their foundation is foolish at best. In fact, he never should have been allowed to do it in the first place.

Although most in the political arena are aware of Stephanopoulos' deep and shady ties to the Clintons, Schweizer's book exposes the flow of foreign money to the Clinton Foundation for favors, especially during Hillary's tenure as secretary of state. So it doesn't surprise me that Schweizer was shocked when he learned about Stephanopoulos' present condition with the Clintons, which goes way beyond $75,000.

Since then, the fallout has been quite extraordinary, starting with a "Republican Revolt" over Stephanopoulos plan to moderate ABC’s GOP debate (as well as coverage of the 2016 presidential campaign), which is scheduled to take place in February in New Hampshire –– an obvious conflict of interest.

While Stephanopoulos recused himself (some say he was fired) from that particular debate, he did add, “I think I’ve shown that I can moderate debates fairly.”

How is that possible?

It is perfectly clear that Stephanopoulos has a problem, which was also reflected during the 2012 presidential debate. Kudos to PJMedia for bringing out of the archives:

He [Stephanopoulos] really hasn’t shown that he can moderate debates fairly at all. It was Steppie who introduced the Democrats’ patented 2012 #GOPWarOnWomen theme during the first GOP primary debate in New Hampshire in January of 2012. Who can forget the look on Mitt Romney’s face when he was hit with one pointless question after another about hypothetical contraception bans.

Debate? What what about journalism, period?

Yep, since Stephanopoulos got caught writing "undisclosed" checks to the Clinton Foundation, his twitter "exploded" with calls for his resignation, while the piles and piles of headlines have been brutal –– and not just from the Right side.

Despite the fact that "ABC News policy required that Stephanopoulos disclose his contributions to the Clinton Foundation to management before covering stories related to it," the network, thus far, is standing by him.

Still, the story is much worse because it's more than just the cash ($25k in 2012, 2013, and 2014) at issue: In fact Mr. Stephanopoulos has a long history with the Clinton Foundation –– all exposed by Breitbart News and Peter Schweizer; not ABC or the news anchor himself.

Graphic taken from Breitbart News

• In 2006, he was a featured attendee and panel moderator at the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI).
• In 2007, Stephanopoulos was a featured attendee once again.
• He was a 2008 panelist at the CGI annual meeting.
• In 2009, Stephanopoulos was a featured attendee and panelist at the annual CGI meeting yet again.
• For the years 2010 and 2011, the Clinton Global Initiative website lists Stephanopoulos as a “notable media member..." –– along side numerous well-known media personalities, mostly left leaning (other than Greta Van Susteren) such as, Christiane Amanpour, Tom Brokaw, Anderson Cooper, Katie Couric, Matt Lauer, and Judy Woodruff. Spoiler Alert: Considering that Woodruff, another Clinton Foundation donor, is married Al Hunt, the couple will be detailed in Section Two of this blog post. 
• In 2013 and 2014, he and Chelsea Clinton served as CGI contest judges for awards in the "Up to Us Competition"...
• Last year, Stephanopoulos’ wife, Ali Wentworth, attended a CGI fundraiser at which the Clintons auctioned off a $500,000 lunch with Bill and Hillary.

OOPS, he did it again...

By the way, those "notable members" have other categories that include President Obama, Al Gore the Chairman of the Alliance for Climate Protection, George Soros Chairman Soros Fund Management, as well as Lloyd C. Blankfein Chairman and CEO the Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and Jeffrey Immelt Chairman and CEO General Electric – just to name a few.

And, the Clinton Global Initiative offers memberships where you can help "address pressing global problems" for a membership fee of $20,000 per calendar year, $19,000 of which is tax deductible! However, participation is by invitation only, but the CGI membership package includes some goodies:

• Annual Meeting Attendance
• Relationship Management
• Year-Round Engagement
• Commitment Development
• Media Support and Showcasing Opportunities

Nevertheless let's get back to Stephanopoulos, "who has a long history of abusing his role as a journalist by promoting his former boss Bill Clinton and the work of his foundation," which is documented by NewsBusters.

"In addition, NewsBusters’ Geoff Dickens has compiled a list of ten times George Stephanopoulos sucked up to the Clintons on ABC’s airwaves."

And over at the Gateway Pundit you can find a video montage of attack dog Stephanopoulos defending Hillary Clinton.

In the meantime, of course the Stephanopoulos disgrace hit the Sunday show circuit (May 17), including his –– ABC's This Week –– where he once again apologized to his viewers using the same lines that he read on "Good Morning America" the Friday before (May 15).

Where's Schweizer's apology?

Well, we won't hold our breath; however, by Monday morning, ABC and Stephanopoulos were not only suffering a major hangover, but were in a full-blown crisis mode. 

Time will tell what's next...

The PBS-Clinton Connections

Photo from NewsBusters: Charlie Rose interviews former
President Bill Clinton at the 2014 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Conference 

Meanwhile, there's another interview that caught my attention, which I also mentioned in my May 4 blog post that warrants additional scrutiny. Here is what I wrote at that time:

Well, move over Scooby Doo, because "Clinton Cash," which hadn't even hit the shelves yet, basically opened up Pandora's box. And the response from the Clinton Camp and their operatives have been brutal, starting with the chairman of Mrs. Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, John Podesta, who attempted to discredit the author, while claiming that the book, of which he hadn't yet read, is "nothing new."

Yep, a week after Hillary launched her presidential bid (April 12) and the same day that the New York Times broke the story of the forthcoming publication "Clinton Cash" (April 19), of which, at that time they labeled it as "the most anticipated and feared book of a presidential cycle still in its infancy," Mr. Podesta appeared on the Charlie Rose Show.

Albert Hunt, a veteran political journalist, opened his segment of the show by heralding Podesta as "the most influential Democratic party insider today" –– and then... blah blah blah. While the majority of the 20-minute interview was basically cheer leading the rollout of Hillary's campaign, the last part was reserved for slamming the book "Clinton Cash" and its author Peter Schweizer.

Before we go any further, a little background usually sets the stage properly. Sometime in October 2014, Charlie Rose added a segment to his show called "Al Hunt on the story," where Hunt has interviewed quite a few high-powered folks since that time, including Secretary of State John Kerry in October 2014. Hunt had Podesta on his show in November 2014 to discuss his work as President Obama's top advisor on climate change and other key issues.

Second: most are aware of the deep-rooted ties that Podesta has to the Clintons as a close friend and longtime political ally. He served as Bill Clinton's chief of staff as well as his scandal deflector and more.

So it's no surprise that Podesta came out swinging against the "Clinton Cash" book. However, why didn't Hunt –– a so called "respected journalist" –– challenge Podesta on at least the serous accusations that were known during the time of that particular interview?

On the contrary, Hunt, along with Podesta, seemed entertained by the topic at hand.

Why didn't Hunt reveal his wife's ties to the Clinton Foundation?

Maybe she didn't tell him. 

What about Charlie Rose's connections to the foundation –– he happens to be the editor of Hunt's show, "Al Hunt on the story?"

Was Hunt aware that his sponsors (PBS as well as Bloomberg) donated to the Clinton Foundation?

Well, possibly the following Intel will shed some light on these inquiries and more. 

First it's important to know that according to the Christian Science Monitor, "Podesta has held a top role in the family's charitable foundation" –– and was a "featured attendee" at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) annual gatherings in 2011 and again in 2012.

John Podesta also donated between $1,000 and $5,000 to the Clinton Foundation, while his high-powered lobbyist brother Tony Podesta donated between $25,000 and $50,000 –– as well as Tony's ex-wife Heather Podesta (lobbyist too) donated between $50,000 and $100,000, some of which she did so in 2014.

Charlie Rose: Anchor and Executive Editor of PBS' "Charlie Rose" and "Charlie Rose: The Week", Co-Anchor of "CBS This Morning"

But it gets better, because Charlie Rose, the Executive Editor and Anchor at PBS, was also a "featured attendee" at both the 2011 and 2012 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) annual meetings and was a "featured speaker" at the 2013 CGI meeting.

Adding to the mix is the fact that the partially taxpayer-funded ($445 million in 2014) Public Broadcasting Services (PBS), which has been known for its media bias (it leans left), by the way, is also listed as a Clinton Foundation donor, giving between $5,000 and $10,000.

Moreover, at the 2014 CGI annual meeting, in a panel called "Leadership That Matters," where this particular "CGI Conversation" was hosted by PBS’s Charlie Rose, and the moderator listed is Mr. Rose –– adding the following impressive bio: The Anchor and Executive Editor of "Charlie Rose" and "Charlie Rose: The Week" and Co-Anchor of "CBS This Morning".

Rose, who is also considered a veteran journalist and an anchor on the state-sponsored PBS,
spoke with Bill Clinton at that same 2014 Clinton conference, where the former president fawned over the longtime PBS interviewer: "The reason I like your program is you interview everybody the same..."

During that same interview, Rose praised Bill as "the best political animal that's ever been in American politics..."

What's funny too, is that both Bill and Hillary Clinton have been frequent friendly guests on the Charlie Rose Show.

As part of her "Hard Choices" book tour, on July 16, 2014, Rose spent an hour with Mrs. Clinton on his PBS show, of which he began the interview with a poem about her.

After the warm welcome, Rose continued: "In full disclosure: I consider Hillary Clinton a friend and proud to have her here and look forward to a conversation with all of and the best questions that I know how to ask.”

Journalists: Albert Hunt and His Wife Judy Woodruff

Enter in journalist Albert Hunt (labeled a liberal), who is a columnist for Bloomberg View, the editorial arm of Bloomberg News (which is a subsidiary of Bloomberg L.P.). Now,  he seems to criticize both sides of the political isle; however, not equally and Hunt has displayed disdain for the Tea Party movement, while he treads lightly around Hillary Clinton and even praises her name. 

Bloomberg LP, which was founded by liberal billionaire Michael Bloomberg (with the help of others) in 1981, by the way, is also listed as a donor to the Clinton Foundation –– giving between $50,000 and $100,000.

Most know Bloomberg as the mayor of New York City, whom, with his left-wing views of life, banned large sodas. After his tenure as mayor was completed at the end of 2013, he returned "as head of Bloomberg LP, the financial data and media firm he founded and still controls." "Mr. Bloomberg owns 88% of Bloomberg LP and is worth $33 billion, estimates Forbes," noted the Wall Street Journal when they reported on the former mayor's transition.

What most Americans don't know is that Bloomberg is one of the top political donors in America (second to another liberal billionaire and Clinton Foundation donor, Tom Steyer), of which the vast majority of Bloomberg's cash is supporting Democrats.

Now, as of December 2014, while the New York Times acknowledged the "Cordial Ties for Bloomberg and Hillary Clinton," they also noted that his support for Hillary is not clear. Here's an excerpt: 

He has not jumped on the early bandwagon to support Mrs. Clinton’s likely 2016 presidential campaign. Mr. Bloomberg is close to other potential 2016 hopefuls, including Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, who sits on the board of Bloomberg Philanthropies.

In the meantime, we can add to the cozy relationships Hunt's wife Judy Woodruff (remember my Spoiler Alert earlier?), whose bio states the following: "Broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff is the Co-Anchor and Managing Editor of the PBS NewsHour with Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff. She has covered politics and other news for more than three decades at CNN, NBC and PBS."

However, what is missing from her bio is that Woodruff is not only a “notable media member" of the Clinton Global Initiative, she is also a small donor to the Clinton Foundation and a big fan of Bill Clinton.

Four days after her husband Al Hunt interviewed John Podesta (April 19), which, as mentioned earlier, was the day that that New York Times broke the story of the forthcoming publication "Clinton Cash," Woodruff covered the topic as well.

In her April 23, 2015, PBS NewsHour broadcast titled, "Will questions about conflict of interest hurt the Clinton campaign?," she interviewed Carolyn Ryan, New York Times Washington bureau chief and its political editor, Carolyn Ryan as well as Jonathan Allen, a reporter for Reuters.

The discussions surrounded two damaging pieces to the Clinton Foundation that were published that day: One by the New York Times, "Cash Flowed to Clinton Foundation Amid Russian Uranium Deal," while the other from Reuters that reported, "Exclusive: Clinton charities will refile tax returns, audit for other errors."

Now, Woodruff wasn't combative like Stephanopoulos was with Schweizer; however, the New York Times and Reuters are hardly enemies  –– and, for good measure, she threw this in:

I want to come back to you quickly, Carolyn Ryan. A part of the New York Times’ story today did say that some of the information in the piece was based on reporting done by a conservative writer who has come out with a new book about the Clintons. How much of The New York Times reporting was dependent on that?

Nevertheless, it wasn't until the day that Mr. Stephanopoulos was busted with his $75,000 Clinton Foundation contribution (May 14) that Woodard, the co-anchor and managing editor of PBS NewsHour, admitted to giving $250 in 2010 to the foundation’s aid efforts for victims of the Haiti earthquake.” However, she failed to mention her "notable member status."

Maybe she didn't get the memo.

Photo below found at NewsBusters: 
PBS Judy Woodruff (Al Hunt's wife) 

interviews former President Bill Clinton 

at the 2013 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting 

It's also interesting that the Wall Street Journal notes that the timing of this small contribution was when "she [Woodruff] was covering politics as a senior correspondent for PBS NewsHour."

The Journal also addressed the fact that Woodruff "has interviewed former President Bill Clinton several times over the course of her career." Hillary too.

In fact, on September 12, 2014 (nine days prior to his foundation's 10th Annual Meeting) PBS NewsHour co-anchor Woodruff sat down with Bill for a lengthy chat.

In 2013, she interviewed him at the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) about his ambitions for the organization" –– an interview that NewsBusters describes as "softball as usual," while reminding us that at that time, "Woodruff had just been named co-anchor with Gwen Ifill" –– the latter is another advocate for Hillary.

Woodruff also interviewed Bill at the 2010 CGI Annual gathering.

While Woodruff has been caught displaying her liberal bias, both in the past and the present, let's not forget too, that PBS's behavior (both Woodruff and Ifill) in covering the 2012 presidential election suggests that they have an issue with objectivity –– and that was without a Clinton in the race.


In closing...

As Peter Schweizer recently put it: "What is certain is that Stephanopoulos' ethical malpractice and hidden-hand journalism have done further injury to an essential, if beleaguered, institution, one already battling to preserve legitimacy."

But while Stephanopoulos may be the poster child for journalist gone rogue (that's putting it lightly), keep in mind that the Clinton Foundation donors include dozens of media organizations and individuals, as well as the fact that the media participates in this foundation in other ways, which also deserve scrutiny –– as proven in the example portrayed in this post.

Lastly, it's bad enough that most of the so-called mainstream media leans left, with some that are outright bias to the core, but now we can confirm that the Clintons have many journalists in their back pocket (by accident or on purpose). Talk about a "blur."

Obviously, since Hillary Clinton is aiming her sights on becoming the president of the United States –– the leader of the free world –– this is a huge problem.

Nevertheless, at this point, the best case scenario is that Bill and Hillary extort tons of free press. Worst case is that due to the media agencies and journalists that either aid in their adventures, or donate to their foundation, while continually airing their related interviews (infomercials), it legitimizes, at least to the uninformed masses, that the Clinton Foundation is a worthy charity. 

However, the truth now reveals that this world-wide work of benevolence is suspect as something more sinister, possibly (with the false prophet Benny Hinn also a big donor), as disgraceful as what Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker did in the 70's and 80's to the religious arena.

Are Bill and Hillary America's reigning king and queen of global philanthropy –– without the tears of course? Oh, they can always hire House Speaker John Boehner for that.