NBC Skips Big News that State Department Will Release Clinton’s Full Schedule

Despite a total of four hours of air time, NBC’s Today on Friday completely skipped the latest development in the ongoing scandal involving the Clinton Foundation, Hillary Clinton and the State Department. Instead, the network prioritized 14 minutes to covering an Alicia Keys concert. Not exactly the most pressing story. 

ABC and CBS managed to do slightly better, but not by much. Good Morning America allowed 21 seconds and CBS This Morning managed 20 seconds. On CBS, Josh Elliott revealed, “Hillary Clinton will have at least one more distraction, meanwhile, before Election Day dating from her time as Secretary of State. The Associated Press is reporting the State Department plans now to release all of her detailed planning schedules from then by mid-October. ” One more distraction? 

Elliott uncritically added, “The schedules may answer questions about the Clinton Foundation's access to the department.” 

Over on GMA, Paula Faris noted, “The documents could answer lingering questions about her meetings with donors to the Clinton Foundation.” Back on August 23, the Associated Press revealed that “more than half the people outside the government who met with Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state gave money — either personally or through companies or groups — to the Clinton Foundation.” 

Transcripts of the two briefs are below: 

CBS This Morning 
9/2/16
7:12am ET 

JOSH ELLIOTT: Hillary Clinton will have at least one more distraction, meanwhile, before Election Day dating from her time as Secretary of State. The Associated Press is reporting the State Department plans now to release all of her detailed planning schedules from then by mid-October. The schedules may answer questions about the Clinton Foundation's access to the department. 

GMA
9/2/16
8:03am ET 

PAULA FARIS: The State Department says that it will release all of Hillary Clinton's daily schedules from her time as Secretary of State before Election Day, which is weeks earlier than initially expected. The documents could answer lingering questions about her meetings with donors to the Clinton Foundation. Clinton will begin traveling on her press plane next week after being criticized for not giving enough access to the media.