ABC's Stephanopoulos Won't Moderate GOP Debates After Disclosure Of Donations To Clinton Foundation

ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos said that he should not have donated money to the Clinton Foundation. The "Good Morning America" co-anchor previously decided not to disclose to his viewers and employers that he had contributed a total of $75,000 to the foundation.

Stephanopoulos has decided not to moderate any Republican Party debates in the future, amid concerns about his objectivity as a journalist. He said he had the impression that his donations were a matter of public record as he was named among other donors on the foundation's website. However, he said he realized that he should have “gone the extra mile” to disclose the donations to viewers.

Stephanopoulos said he had donated $25,000 a year for three consecutive years from 2012 to 2014.

Stephanopoulos said that he had decided against moderating the Republican Party debates because he would not want to “deprive viewers of a good debate.” "I think I've shown that I can moderate debates fairly,” Politico quoted him, “That said, I know there have been questions made about moderating debates this year.”

Stephanopoulos said he should have ensured that there wouldn't be any appearance of any conflict. According to Stephanopoulos, he supports the foundation for the “very good work” it has done. Before joining ABC, Stephanopoulos worked as an adviser to President Bill Clinton. But despite this history, he earned a reputation as a politically neutral journalist.

Inquisitr reported that it was a “rookie mistake” by the veteran journalist. It said that the Stephanopoulos controversy has shown that it was pretty easy for Washington to control certain aspects of the media. The news website predicts that this is not going to be the last scandal of the 2016 presidential campaign.

Stephanopoulos is, however, going to continue covering the presidential campaign. Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, said he'll refused to appear on ABC's “This Week” if Stephanopoulos continued to be a part of the coverage.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au.