As the controversy swirling around the Clinton Foundation continued to grow, Monday, only CBS This Morning covered the revelation that the Clintons attempted to pressure a well-known charity watchdog into withdrawing its objections. Despite a combined six hours of air-time, ABC's Good Morning America and NBC's Today ignored the story.
On CBS, co-host Norah O'Donnell alerted that "a new report is adding to the controversy surrounding the Clinton Foundation." Citing an expose by New York magazine's Gabriel Sherman, O'Donnell explained, "Author Gabriel Sherman writes [the Clintons] wanted Charity Navigator to remove the foundation from a watch list. He says the Clintons tried to strong-arm the group by contacting a board member."
CBS only allowed 25 seconds on the topic, but that's more than the four-hour-long Today show could manage. The program devoted two minutes to "National Eat What You Want" day and nothing to the Clintons. GMA offered over six minutes to promoting the new Max Max movie. Nothing on the financial dealings of the Clintons.
New York magazine revealed:
Long before Clinton Cash — the Clinton Foundation wound up on a "watch list" maintained by the Charity Navigator, the New Jersey–based nonprofit watchdog. The Navigator, dubbed the "most prominent" nonprofit watchdog by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, is a powerful and feared player in the nonprofit world. Founded in 2002, it ranks more than 8,000 charities and is known for its independence. For a while, the Clinton Foundation was happy to promote Charity Navigator’s work (back when they were awarded its highest ranking). In September 2014, in fact, the Navigator's then-CEO, Ken Berger, was invited to speak at the Clinton Global Initiative. Of course that was before the Foundation was placed on a list with scandal-plagued charities like Al Sharpton's National Action Network and the Red Cross.
...
Navigator executives counter that the Foundation has demanded they extend the Clintons special treatment. They also allege the Foundation attempted to strong-arm them by calling a Navigator board member. "They felt they were of such importance that we should deviate from our normal process. They were irritated by that," says Berger.
...
Unfortunately for Hillary’s campaign, the Navigator’s policy is that charities that land on the list stay there for a minimum of six months. Sandra Miniutti, the Navigator’s spokesperson, told me that, in order to get off the list, the Clintons need to publicly address each of the controversies raised by the media with a convincing response.
The clock is ticking.
On May 1, once again, CBS This Morning looked into the "pattern" of the Clintons hiding foreign donors. ABC ignored the latest details and NBC gave it only a few seconds.
A transcript of the May 11 CBS This Morning brief is below:
7:15
NORAH O’DONNELL: A new report is adding to the controversy surrounding the Clinton Foundation. New York Magazine says the Clintons worked behind-the-scenes to put pressure on a charity watchdog. Author Gabriel Sherman writes they wanted Charity Navigator to remove the foundation from a watch list. He says the Clintons tried to “strong-arm” the group by contacting a board member. The article also says a Clinton advisor urged the foundation to appoint a Republican as co-chair to insulate them from partisan attacks.
