(Fox News) The growing scandal plaguing MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton has been “ricocheting around the halls” of 30 Rock with his colleagues 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 National Action Network nonprofit ahead of a friendly interview with the Democratic nominee just weeks before the election.
“MSNBC was unaware of the donations made to the National Action Network,” an MSNBC spokesperson told the Washington Free Beacon, which first broke the story.
Harris sat down for a friendly interview on Oct. 20 with Sharpton, an open supporter of Harris and the Democratic Party. Following Harris’ defeat to President-elect Donald Trump, FEC filings revealed the Harris campaign gave two $250,000 donations to Sharpton’s nonprofit organization in September and October. However, the MSNBC weekend host did not disclose to viewers the apparent conflict of interest before or after the interview. Neither did he disclose the donations to his bosses at the network, according to 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,” a current MSNBC employee reacted to Fox News Digital.
“Harris could have given Al Sharpton an interview, and it would have gone the same way,” they continued. “But what are you paying for?… There’s no way that this can’t seem weird.”
MSNBC reportedly said it was “unaware” that Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign paid $500,000 to Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network nonprofit. (MSNBC screenshot)
“Everybody knows who Al Sharpton is… but this feels like a bridge too far. A big bridge too far… This is not landing well,” the MSNBC staffer said.
“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,” they continued. “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 everyone at MSNBC knows Sharpton is given a “wide berth” and that he’s “not held to the same journalistic standard” as others at MSNBC since he’s far more known outside the network for his high-profile political and social activism. That said, 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 employee said. “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.”
