ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos may be coming under fire for not disclosing his $75,000 in donations to the Clinton Foundation, but ties to Clintonland hardly end there for the former White House spokesman.
According to Politico in 2009, Stephanopoulos, along with former Clintonites James Carville, Rahm Emanuel and Paul Begala, talk on the phone every single day and discuss everything under the sun. (RELATED: ABC’s George Stephanopoulos Failed To Disclose $75K Clinton Foundation Donation)
As the publication’s editor-in-chief John Harris put it once one of the foursome picks up the phone:
So begins another morning in what may count as Washington’s longest-running conversation — a street-corner bull session between four old friends who suddenly find themselves standing once more at the busiest intersection of politics and media in Washington.
Per Harris, the conversations among the four went on for “nearly a generation” since they all worked for Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign against then-President George H.W. Bush.
As for the “Good Morning America” host and former Clinton White House spokesman specifically:
Stephanopoulos’ role is as the analyst and the skeptic. “George is really a big-systems thinker,” Begala said. “As a journalist, he is half of a political scientist, and because he’s not in the partisan battles anymore, he sees things differently.”
It is a sensitive point for Stephanopoulos, who shot to fame as a Bill Clinton retainer and has worked hard to fashion a reputation as an independent journalist.
He said he does not surrender that role when he gets on the calls, nor does he surrender personal feelings that go back nearly 20 years.
“We are all good friends,” he said. “We just like talking to each other, and I learn a lot from it … and that’s why we have been doing it for so long.”