FIRST ON FOX – MSNBC’s Al Sharpton has continued to make guest appearances on the network in addition to hosting his weekend show after revelations that his nonprofit took money from the Kamala Harris campaign before he interviewed her.
The Harris campaign shelled out a whopping $500,000 to Sharpton’s National Action Network nonprofit ahead of a friendly interview the MSNBC host conducted with the Democratic nominee just weeks before the election. MSNBC insists it was “unaware” at the time of the donation, which was reported by the Washington Free Beacon on Nov. 12.
In addition to hosting “PoliticsNation” on Saturdays and Sundays, Sharpton has made another seven appearances as a guest on MSNBC since the story broke, according to the Media Research Center, including on Wednesday’s “Morning Joe.” He made 30 guest appearances from Oct. 1 to Nov. 11, his appearances decreasing somewhat since the payment was revealed.
Nevertheless, he’s continued to be part of the network’s coverage of the aftermath of President-elect Donald Trump’s victory over Harris, whom Sharpton and many of his network colleagues strongly supported.
SHARPTON’S ‘PAY TO PLAY’ SCANDAL ‘RICOCHETING AROUND THE HALLS’ OF MSNBC, INSIDER SAYS: ‘CAN’T BE ACCEPTABLE’
MSNBC’s Al Sharpton was an open supporter of Kamala Harris’ bid for the presidency and his show is almost exclusively devoted to anti-Republican commentary. (Brian Stukes/Getty Images; Kim Kulish/Corbis via Getty Images; Screenshot/MSNBC)
“Every aspect of MSNBC’s handling of this case demonstrates a wild disregard for journalistic standards,” MRC senior research analyst Bill D’Agostino told Fox News Digital. “They ignored the story for days, then pled ignorance and moved on. Sharpton’s guest appearances may have decreased since this scandal broke, but he’s still around, and he still has his own show. His prevalence on the network will probably return to its normal rate within a month. It looks like their plan is to ignore this story until it goes away.”
Harris sat down for her friendly interview on Oct. 20 with Sharpton, an open supporter of Harris and the Democratic Party. FEC filings revealed the Harris campaign gave two $250,000 donations to Sharpton’s nonprofit organization in September and October. However, the MSNBC weekend host did not disclose to viewers the apparent conflict of interest before or after the interview.
During the interview, Sharpton wished Harris a happy birthday and likened her to revered Democrat Shirley Chisholm.
MSNBC WAS ‘UNAWARE’ HARRIS CAMPAIGN GAVE $500K TO AL SHARPTON’S GROUP AHEAD OF FRIENDLY INTERVIEW
MSNBC reportedly said it was “unaware” that Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign paid $500,000 to Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network nonprofit. (MSNBC screenshot)
D’Agostino found that “MSNBC was so excited about Sharpton’s interview that they promoted it at least 17 times in the four days surrounding it,” and “three of those instances involved a guest appearance by Sharpton himself, in which he fielded questions about his conversation with Harris and accepted praise for his marvelous work.”
Sharpton did not disclose the donations to his bosses at MSNBC, according to the Free Beacon.
“MSNBC was unaware of the donations made to the National Action Network,” an MSNBC spokesperson told the Free Beacon.
MSNBC didn’t respond to other requests for comment.
“Al Sharpton is a racial ambulance chaser,” MRC president Brent Bozell posted on X. “He SHOULD NOT be the host of a news show. Accepting money from a candidate should be the end of his ‘news’ career.”
KAMALA HARRIS INTERVIEWERS RECEIVED LARGE CAMPAIGN DONATIONS TO THEIR GROUPS AHEAD OF SIT-DOWNS
Vice President Kamala Harris sat down for a friendly interview with MSNBC’s Al Sharpton on October 20. (MSNBC screenshot)
Sharpton’s colleagues inside NBC’s Rockefeller Plaza headquarters are buzzing about the ordeal. A current MSNBC employee told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that the move “has a bit of a dirty feel to it.”
“There’s a sense of like, ‘Ugh, we don’t need this. This feels kind of grifty and gross,’” the MSNBC employee said.
“That kind of money should not be changing hands to people who are cosplaying being a journalist,” they continued. “Maybe that’s not a fair term because I don’t know, is he a journalist? I don’t know. But that just feels a little bit like pay to play, and it doesn’t feel right.”
Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
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