ABC and CBS on Monday allowed a mere 45 seconds combined to the admission of "mistakes" by the Clinton Foundation in improperly filing taxes for years. The two hour-long Good Morning America managed a scant 20 seconds, but over three minutes to Grey's Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey being killed off his show. Not exactly the most pressing topic.
News reader Amy Robach allowed, "Well, the head of the Clinton Foundation is acknowledging the charity made mistakes in the way it reported donations from foreign governments." After noting that the foundation will be re-filing five years worth of tax forms because "it mistakenly combined government grants with private donors," Robach assured, "The acting CEO is reaffirming the foundation's commitment to transparency."
CBS This Morning did slightly better, managing 25 seconds out of an available two hours. In contrast, the show devoted over five minutes to a new book about "lessons in love from a wedding reporter."
On the subject of the Clintons, Norah O'Donnell quickly explained that the foundation "admits this morning it made mistakes in its public list of contributors." O'Donnell conceded, "Questions about the foundation's fundraising have multiplied since Hillary Clinton started her presidential campaign two weeks ago."
NBC on Monday offered a full report to Peter Schweizer, with co-host Savannah Guthrie grilling the author of Clinton Cash. Yet, the Today show didn't specifically note the latest on the foundation apology.
A report by the Associated Press revealed:
Maura Pally posted the statement Sunday on the foundation's website amid swirling questions about its financial support as Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton embarks on her presidential campaign. The former secretary of state in recent weeks has sought to dismiss the scrutiny as "distractions and attacks" by Republicans seeking to discredit her, but on Sunday, Pally acknowledged the foundation had made some errors.
Pally said the Clinton Foundation expected to refile some of its tax forms, following a voluntary external review, because it had "mistakenly combined" government grants with other donations. She stressed the total revenue was reported accurately and that grants were properly broken out on audited statements on its website.
"Yes, we made mistakes, as many organizations of our size do, but we are acting quickly to remedy them, and have taken steps to ensure they don't happen in the future," she said.
Transcripts of the two news briefs can be found below:
CBS This Morning
April 27, 2015
7:19:04-7:19:29 [25 seconds]NORAH O’DONNELL: The Clinton Foundation admits this morning it made mistakes in its public list of contributors. The charity’s acting CEO says the foundation expects to re-file tax forms for some years. Maura Pally says government grants were not properly identified to the IRS. Instead those contributions were lumped in with other donations. Questions about the foundation's fundraising have multiplied since Hillary Clinton started her presidential campaign two weeks ago.
GMA
4/27/15
7:13:39 to 7:13:59
20 secondsAMY ROBACH: Well, the head of the Clinton Foundation is acknowledging the charity made mistakes in the way it reported donations from foreign governments. The foundation is now expected to re-file five years's worth of tax forms because it says it mistakenly combined government grants with private donors. The acting CEO is reaffirming the foundation's commitment to transparency.
