How do the executives at NBC feel about willfully paying and providing a TV platform to a man who reportedly owes the government more than $4.5 million in back taxes?
They’re not saying. When the Washington Examiner asked an NBC spokeswoman for comment on a recent report that Rev. Al Sharpton owes $4.5 million in state and federal tax liens against him, the response was “no comment.”
The report, published Tuesday by the New York Times, stopped just short of calling Sharpton a tax cheat.
Sharpton, who runs a non-profit activist group and hosts a political commentary show on MSNBC, denied that the Times report proved any unethical or criminal behavior.
During a Wednesday news conference — at which Sharpton uploaded a photo of himself to Instagram – he said the $4.5 million-plus figure was from 2008 and that he and his nonprofit have since made payments on the sum and sought to negotiate a lesser tax penalty.
Sharpton is a close adviser to the Obama administration, reportedly advising the president on race relations, the recent unrest in Ferguson, Mo., and the selection of a replacement for outgoing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
Erik Wemple, a media critic and blogger for the Washington Post told the Washington Examiner, “This is what MSNBC gets when it hires a host with a wide network of professional and activist pursuits and financial connections.”
Wemple added that MSNBC might consider giving Sharpton a due date on when to resolve his tax issues. “If he didn’t, I’d find a way to ‘move in another direction,’ as they say in the business,” Wemple said.
