Fmr ABC Journalists on Stephanopoulos: ‘Dumbfounded,’ ‘Outrageous,’ ‘Foolish’

Sunday on CNN’s “Reliable Sources,” former ABC anchor Carole Simpson and one-time ABC regular Jeff Greenfield weighed in on George Stephanopoulos not disclosing his donations to the Clinton Foundation while reporting on it and said they were both “dumbfounded” by Stephanopoulos’ actions.

Simpson said, “I was dumbfounded, too. I like George. I worked with him and have great respect for him. But I wanted to just take him by the neck and say, George, what were you thinking? And clearly, he was not thinking. I thought it was outrageous, and I am sorry that, again, the public’s trust in the media is being challenged and frayed because of the actions of some of the top people in the business.”

“I call this a self-inflicted wound,” Greenfield added. “ABC has said George Stephanopoulos can not moderate a Republican debate. What else are they going to say he’s not going to be able to do? Like Carol, I was completely dumbfounded, particularly in the interview with Schweizer. I couldn’t believe as he was making the whole conversation about the foundation that it didn’t occur to him to say ‘maybe I should disclose I’ve given them a lot of money and participated in a lot of their events.’ It simple is an indication that very smart people can sometimes be very foolish.”

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