A meticulous new study finds that major broadcasters appear to be shielding Hillary Clinton and her campaign for the White House, even as questions about her family foundation continue to emerge.

“The Clinton Foundation has been such a source of conflict during the 2016 presidential election that print media outlets and even some Democrats said the Clinton family should actually leave the foundation,” wrote Alatheia Nelson, an analyst for Newsbusters.org. She pointed out in a new report that even the liberal Minnesota Star Tribune advised voters to be concerned about the “appearance of a conflict of interest” as Mrs. Clinton continues her bid for the presidency.



This is not the case with ABC, NBC and CBS, the big three broadcast networks. The networks virtually ignored the conflict-of-interest aspect in 95 percent of their stories, according to Ms. Nelson, who analyzed 62 network news stories about the Clinton Foundation that appeared from Aug. 9 to Sept. 9.

“Only three stories — all on the morning news shows — suggested that the Clinton family should do anything more to avoid ethical problems if Clinton is elected president,” Ms. Nelson reported. “In other words, more than 95 percent of the reports did not even question the ethics of the Clinton family remaining involved with the Clinton Foundation.”

The one-month time period for the study was problematic for Mrs. Clinton’s campaign. An initial Judicial Watch report in early August alleged that foundation donors received special treatment from the candidate while she was secretary of state.

A follow-up Associated Press story found that over half of the people Mrs. Clinton met with while serving at the federal agency were Clinton Foundation donors. An account in The Hill revealed that multiple “government watchdog groups” warned the Clinton family “to eliminate any perception that Clinton Foundation donors could use their wallets to gain undue access to a Hillary Clinton White House.”

The future is somewhat uncertain. At this point, former president Bill Clinton said he would leave the foundation if his spouse was elected. Daughter Chelsea Clinton plans to remain on the board. Find the organization here.

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