Peter Schweizer, who authored the famed “Clinton Cash,” penned an op-ed for USA TODAY that paints ABC News host George Stephanopoulos as “an ardent and engaged Clinton Foundation advocate.”
Stephanopoulos has been under scrutiny since it was revealed last week that the ABC News chief anchor donated a whopping $75,000 in charitable gifts to the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation without disclosing it publicly — until now.
Schweizer, who Stephanopoulos aggressively and defensively interviewed last month about the revelations in his book, offers several details in the op-ed that point to Stephanopoulos’ suspect involvement with the Clintons’ charity.
He writes in USA TODAY:
Schweizer accuses Stephanopoulos of “hidden-hand journalism,” a practice the “Clinton Cash” author claims has “contributed to America’s news media’s crisis of credibility in particular, and Americans’ distrust of the news media more broadly.”
Stephanopoulos gave $25,000 to the Clinton Foundation annually for three years — 2012, 2013 and 2014 — even as he reported on the Clinton’s charity.
The “This Week” host has since apologized and ABC News has backed him up, “accept[ing] his apology” for an “honest mistake.”
His Clinton Foundation involvement suggests an obvious conflict of interest for Stephanopoulos as he gears up to cover the 2016 presidential election, in which Hillary Clinton is a prime candidate.
However, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the ABC News anchor would support the Clintons. After all, Stephanopoulos served as communications director and senior advisor for policy and strategy during the Clinton Administration as well as fulfilling the role of communications director on Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign.
