The growing scandal engulfing MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton has “ricocheted around the halls” of 30 Rock with his co-stars calling it a “bridge too far” for them, Fox News Digital has learned.
On Tuesday, MSNBC said it was unaware that Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign paid $500,000 to Sharpton’s nonprofit National Action Network ahead of a friendly interview with the Democratic nominee just weeks before the election.
“MSNBC was not aware of any donations made to the National Action Network,” an MSNBC spokesperson said. Free Washington Beaconwho first broke the story.
Harris sat down for a friendly interview on October 20 with Sharpton, an outspoken supporter of Harris and the Democratic Party. Following Harris’ loss to President-elect Donald Trump, FEC filings found that Harris’ campaign made two $250,000 donations to Sharpton’s nonprofit in September and October.
However, the MSNBC weekend host did not disclose the apparent conflict of interest to viewers before or after the interview. Nor did he disclose the donations to his bosses at the network, according to the Free Beacon.
“No one is surprised that someone at MSNBC was rooting for Harris. This seems like another level of nonsense. Like, you’re kidding me, right? That’s weird,” the current MSNBC staffer reacted to Fox News 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 doesn’t look weird.”
“Everyone knows who Al Sharpton is… but this seems like a bridge too far. A big bridge too far… This is not sitting well,” they continued. “It has a dirty feel to it… These things happen and they don’t bounce around MSNBC that much. Like people just don’t care. This one feels, I would say, a deeper disappointment. It feels like, ugh, we don’t need this. That feels kind of bitter and gross.”
The insider says that everyone at MSNBC knows that Sharpton has been given “a wide berth” and that he is “not held to the same journalistic standard” as others at MSNBC since he is much better known off the network for activism his political and social high profile. That said, the controversy smacks of a pay-to-play scheme.
“There’s a sense among people I’ve talked to that this seems like something wrong and that something needs to be done about it,” the MSNBC staffer said. “I don’t know what that something is… It’s a lot of money! This is no small matter… It just doesn’t sit well with people.”
However, they cast doubt that Sharpton will face any consequences, telling Fox News Digital “In general, people do things and they kind of get away with it on MSNBC, I mean, unlike the Me Too era.”
“I don’t care if somebody does something to Al. I’m more interested in where that fits with who we are,” the MSNBC insider said. “How does this happen? How does half a million dollars change hands?… How can you think you’re holding someone to account in an interview when they give you money? We’ve been told not to get tickets to a ball game!”
“There’s some real bull – feel good. People who like Ali and respect him and understand his worth… it ranges from disappointment to disgust.
“Not a whole ton of surprise, I’ll tell you that,” they continued. “There are some organizational rules – I understand that he has different rules, but they can’t be like this, that you donate money and then get an interview. That can’t be acceptable… I think a three-year-old would see a potential conflict in that.”
The MSNBC staffer was surprised the network was caught flat-footed by the controversy.
“For MSNBC to start saying they weren’t aware of it to begin with, like, wow. That’s something… Everything about this stinks,” they said.
“Why, why didn’t the campaign think that this would come out and be a really bad look for them? I mean, if Kamala Harris had become president, it would be a scandal! You can!”
“This kind of money should not change hands with people who play along as journalists. Maybe it’s not a fair term because I don’t know, is he a journalist? I don’t know.
“But it feels a little bit like pay to play and it doesn’t feel right in an organization that we’re all still a part of. I understand that not everyone adheres to the same standard, but there should be a set of common rules.
“And my understanding of that is that that would be breaking a rule … I feel like I couldn’t get away with that,” the employee added.
MSNBC did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report.
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