Less than a year ago, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos admitted to Politico that he had made $75,000 in undisclosed contributions to the charitable foundation-slash-campaign operation of his former employers Bill and Hillary Clinton. He personally pledged he wouldn’t moderate a Republican primary debate this year. But ABC News issued a statement of support for Stephanopoulos and insisted it “would take no punitive action against him."
It’s bad enough that ABC never even considered removing this self-evident Clinton loyalist from its “objective” political coverage. They even allow him to conduct softball interviews with Hillary Clinton, and won’t even insist on reminding viewers of his substantial financial support of the woman he’s interviewing.
ABC’s Amy Robach sounded ridiculous on the April 4 Good Morning America when promising “Our candid interview with the Democratic front-runner, right here on GMA.” Candor has left the building when this man is allowed to interview this woman.
Viewers could catch on that George and Hillary are big pals as she reminisced about the “good old days” of partisan warfare for Bill Clinton. Stephanopoulos stuck to horse-race questions, like asking Hillary if she had to win her “home state” of New York. She replied “I have been through this before. You and I were laughing before we started, I can remember how hard it was when my husband ran in ‘92" (against Jerry Brown).
Stephanopoulos only asked Hillary vague questions about Sanders: “Why can’t you put him away?” And on Trump: “Are you worried at all this goes to a contested convention on the Republican side and they pick somebody else, a fresh face, who might be a more difficult challenge in the general election?”
There was absolutely nothing about the ongoing FBI investigation into her scandalous use of a private e-mail server at the State Department. On NBC’s Meet the Press one day before, Chuck Todd quoted the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel pounding her for a “horrible track record on transparency.” There was absolutely nothing about any actual issue of substance, like abortion. One day before, Todd caused Hillary some political heartburn on her right and her left by asking "When, or if, does an unborn child have constitutional rights?"
Mrs. Clinton “messed up” by repeating the “unborn” language to Todd: “Well, under our laws currently, that is not something that exists. The unborn person doesn't have constitutional rights.” A Planned Parenthood official in Illinois complained on Twitter that the U-word is terrible because it “further stigmatizes abortion.”
She upset the right by comparing any restrictions on abortion to communist oppression: “I have seen what happens when governments make these decisions, whether it was forced sterilization, forced abortion in China, or forced childbearing in communist Romania.”
Stephanopoulos found no reason to ask follow-up questions on the kerfuffle. But while Todd was pressing Mrs. Clinton on Sunday, George pounded no-chance Republican candidate John Kasich on This Week with eight abortion questions, such as: “If you believe that abortion is the taking of innocent life, why shouldn't a woman who makes the choice to take that life face some kind of punishment or sanctions?”
This unpaid Hillary shill even asked Bernie Sanders three questions about abortion on his Sunday show, starting with this: “You know, Secretary Clinton also said this morning that she doesn't believe that there are any constitutional rights for the unborn. Is that your position as well?” The goal was that Bernie might get a share of Hillary’s heartburn in his answers.
Certainly, a former Clinton spokesman could attempt objective journalism. Stephanopoulos never does. This was merely the latest proof that Disney-owned ABC runs a Mickey Mouse “news” operation.
