The CEO of CBS News donated more than $6,000 to Democrats during the 2020 election, according to a new report, which comes amid the network grappling with multiple controversies.
Wendy McMahon, the broadcast network’s chief executive, donated $6,100 to President Joe Biden’s campaign and Democratic fundraising platforms in 2020, according to filings from the Federal Election Commission, The Telegraph reported. McMahon, who was working for ABC at the time, donated to the campaign nine times in the final three months leading up to that year’s election.
She reportedly gave donations of $2,500 each to the Biden campaign and the Biden Victory Fund respectively, as well as multiple donations to the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue, according to The Telegraph. The chief executive of CBS, George Cheeks, who oversees CBS News, also donated hundreds of dollars to President Biden’s campaign and other Democrats in the 2020 election.
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CBS is in turmoil this week amid multiple controversies.
The network first sparked confusion by airing two different answers to the same question about Israel this week in its “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. CBS is accused of editing a clip of Harris that made her “word salad” answer, according to critics, sound more succinct and coherent, although its defenders have said the changes were simply for time constraints. The original clip from the Democratic nominee first aired on “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
McMahon has been at the helm of CBS News since 2021 and was not directly involved in editing the interview.
Notably, CBS News employees are not permitted to make donations to political parties or campaigns and McMahon’s donations were when she was with ABC, The Telegraph reported. The rule does not apply to Cheeks as he doesn’t work for the news department.
Former President Trump described the “60 Minutes” edit of Harris as an “unprecedented scandal” and called for CBS’ broadcasting license to be revoked.
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In addition to the controversy over the editing, “CBS Mornings” anchor Tony Dokoupil faced internal uproar following an interview in which he was accused by colleagues of being too tough on an anti-Israel author.
The Jewish CBS News anchor irked liberal colleagues by bluntly stating that journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates’ book read like something you would find in “the backpack of an extremist.” Dokoupil pressed Coates on whether he believes Israel has the right to exist.
The book is heavily anti-Israel and has been criticized for omitting significant context about Palestinian terrorism and the Jewish state’s extraordinary security situation.
At a company conference call on Oct. 7, McMahon and editorial chief Adrienne Roark rebuked Dokoupil, infuriating staffers who defended the morning show anchor.
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CBS leadership reassured offended staff members that following a review, they had concluded that the interview did not meet the company’s “editorial standards,” the Free Press reported, which obtained audio of the staff meeting.
Dokoupil eventually expressed regret for the interview causing tumult, but not for his line of questioning, according to the New York Times. But, Paramount Global chair Shari Redstone, who oversees CBS’ parent company, defended Dokoupil this week during a panel discussion, saying he had done a good job.
Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report.
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