The rising scandal plaguing MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton has been “ricocheting around the halls” of 30 Rock together with his colleagues calling it a “bridge too far” for them, Fox Information Digital has discovered.
On Tuesday, MSNBC mentioned it was “unaware” that Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential marketing campaign paid $500,000 to Sharpton’s Nationwide Motion Community nonprofit forward of a pleasant interview with the Democratic nominee simply weeks earlier than the election.
“MSNBC was unaware of the donations made to the National Action Network,” an MSNBC spokesperson informed the Washington Free Beacon, which first broke the story.
Harris sat down for a pleasant interview on Oct. 20 with Sharpton, an open supporter of Harris and the Democratic Occasion. Following Harris’ defeat to President-elect Donald Trump, FEC filings revealed the Harris marketing campaign gave two $250,000 donations to Sharpton’s nonprofit group in September and October.
Nonetheless, the MSNBC weekend host didn’t confide in viewers the obvious battle of curiosity earlier than or after the interview. Neither did he disclose the donations to his bosses on the community, in accordance with the Free Beacon.
“No one’s surprised that anybody at MSNBC was rooting for Harris. This feels like another level of nonsense. Like, you’re kidding me, right? This is weird,” the present MSNBC worker reacted to Fox Information Digital. “Harris could have given Al Sharpton an interview, and it would have gone the same way. But what are you paying for?… There’s no way that this can’t seem weird.”
“Everybody knows who Al Sharpton is… but this feels like a bridge too far. A big bridge too far… This is not landing well,” they continued. “This has a bit of a dirty feel to it… These things happen and they don’t bounce around MSNBC all that much. Like people just don’t care. This one feels, I’d say, there’s a deeper disappointment. There’s a sense of like, ugh, we don’t need this. This feels kind of grifty and gross.”
The insider says everybody at MSNBC is aware of Sharpton is given a “wide berth” and that he’s “not held to the same journalistic standard” as others at MSNBC since he’s much more identified outdoors the community for his high-profile political and social activism. That mentioned, the controversy reeks of a “pay-to-play” scheme.
“There is a sense among the people I’ve spoken to that this feels like something wrong and that something should be done about it,” the MSNBC worker mentioned. “I don’t know what that something is… That’s a lot of money! That’s not a small matter… It just doesn’t sit well with people.”
They, nevertheless, solid doubt that Sharpton will face any penalties, telling Fox Information Digital “Generally speaking, people do things and they kind of get away with them at MSNBC, I mean, other than in the Me Too era.”
“I don’t care whether somebody does something to Al. I’m more interested in where does this fit into who we are,” the MSNBC insider mentioned. “How does this s— happen? How does half a million dollars change hands?… How can you possibly think you’re holding somebody to account in an interview when they donate money to you? We’re told not to take tickets to a ballgame!”
“It’s acquired an actual bulls— really feel to it. Individuals who like Al and respect him and perceive what his worth is… it ranges from disappointment to disgust.
“Not a whole ton of surprise, I will tell you that,” they continued. “There are some organizational rules – I understand he has different rules, but they can’t be that, that you donate money and then you get an interview. That can’t be acceptable… I think a three-year-old would see a potential conflict in this.”
The MSNBC staffer was stunned by the community being caught flat-footed by the controversy.
“For MSNBC to start by saying they weren’t aware of it to start with, like, wow. That’s something… Everything about this stinks,” they mentioned.
“Like, why did the campaign not think that this would come out and be a really bad look for them? I mean, if Kamala Harris had become president, it’d be a scandal!… You’re not gonna sway my opinion for tickets to a ballgame but for half a million dollars? You might!”
“That form of cash shouldn’t be altering arms to people who find themselves cosplaying being a journalist. Possibly that’s not a good time period as a result of I don’t know, is he a journalist? I don’t know.
“However that simply feels just a little bit like pay to play and it doesn’t really feel proper In a corporation that we’re all nonetheless a part of. I perceive that not everyone seems to be held to the identical normal, however there must be a set of widespread guidelines.
“And my understanding of this is that this would be breaking a rule… it feels like I couldn’t get away with that,” the worker added.
MSNBC didn’t instantly reply to Fox Information Digital’s request for remark.
Fox Information’ Brian Flood contributed to this report.
