George Stephanopoulos, anchor of ABC News’s “Good Morning America” and “This Week,” acknowledged that he has donated multiple times to Bill and Hillary Clinton’s nonprofit Clinton Foundation totaling $50,000.
Stephanopoulos donated $25,000 in 2013 and again in 2014, according to Politico, but he did not disclose the donations on air. Before becoming a news anchor, Stephanopoulos served as a top adviser to President Bill Clinton.
“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 told Politico. “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.”
The Clinton Foundation has fallen under media scrutiny lately for benefiting from foreign donations while Hillary Clinton served as secretary of state, a potential conflict of interest explored by the new book Clinton Cash.
Stephanopoulos recently interviewed the author, Peter Schweizer, but did not disclose his own ties to the Foundation.
“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,” ABC News said in a statement to Politico. “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.”
Hillary Clinton has formally announced she is running for president.
