(Headline USA) MSNBC claimed this week that it was unaware Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign paid $500,000 to Rev. Al Sharpton’s nonprofit ahead of an interview Sharpton conducted with her on the network.
Harris sat down with Sharpton for the friendly interview on Oct. 20.
Federal Election Commission filings showed the Harris campaign made two $250,000 donations to the National Action Network, which Sharpton runs, just weeks prior to the interview.
According to MSNBC, Sharpton did not inform the network of the conflict of interest before or after the interview.
“MSNBC was unaware of the donations made to the National Action Network,” a spokesperson for the network told the Washington Free Beacon.
However, the spokesperson declined to say whether Sharpton would face consequences. He was on air with MSNBC’s Morning Joe just last week.
MSNBC has punished employees for similar missteps, including in 2010 when Joe Scarborough was suspended for making several political donations.
At the time, MSNBC’s public policy stated, “Anyone working for NBC News who takes part in civic or other outside activities may find that these activities jeopardize his or her standing as an impartial journalist because they may create the appearance of a conflict of interest.”
During his October interview with Harris, Sharpton heaped praise on the vice president, at one point comparing her to Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress.
“Some little girl or little boy is gonna be talking about you like you talked about Ms. Shirley Chisholm,” he told her.
The news about Sharpton came as MSNBC struggles to stay afloat.
The network’s parent company, Comcast, is reportedly planning to get rid of most of its cable networks amidst sharp drops in viewership on both MSNBC and NBC.
MSNBC President Rashida Jones told “panicked” employees that “change is always complicated,” according to the New York Post.
