ABC correspondendent David Wright was caught on tape describing himself as a socialist and criticizing the network for its coverage on the news.
Project Veritas, which is dedicated to achieving a more “ethical and transparent” society, is known for their video stings of left-wing news organizations.
Wright criticized the constant negative coverage of Trump by ABC.
He said, “We also don’t give him [Trump] credit for what things he does do…I feel terrible about it, I feel that the truth suffers, the voters are poorly informed… Our bosses don’t see an upside in doing the job we’re supposed to do.”
Wright openly called himself a socialist as well.
“More than that I would consider myself a socialist; like I think there should be national health insurance. I’m totally fine with reigning in corporations, I think they’re too many billionaires, and I think there’s a wealth gap–that’s a problem,” Wright said on the tape.
The full video by Project Veritas can be viewed below:
ABC News isn't happy with Wright's comments.
Not only did Wright describe himself as a socialist, but he also slammed his bosses at ABC.
Specifically, he complained about the constant negative coverage of Trump, saying that Trump isn't given "credit" for what he does.
Wright implied that those orders come from the higher-ups at ABC.
As a result, Wright has been suspended.
The Hill has more details on Wright's suspension by ABC:
ABC News has suspended veteran correspondent David Wright late Tuesday after the conservative group Project Veritas released a recording that showed him saying the network doesn’t care about newsworthy stories, according to a report by The Washington Post.
Wright, 56, reports for ABC’s “World News Tonight,” “Good Morning America," “Nightline" and "20/20." His reports from hotspots in Iraq and Darfur in 2003 and 2004, respectively, earned him Emmy awards.
An ABC News spokesperson told The Hill on Wednesday that Wright will be reassigned "to avoid any possible appearance of bias" upon his return, the timing of which is unknown."Any action that damages our reputation for fairness and impartiality or gives the appearance of compromising it harms ABC News and the individuals involved," the spokesperson said in a statement. "David Wright has been suspended, and to avoid any possible appearance of bias, he will be reassigned away from political coverage when he returns.”
Project Veritas, which routinely releases undercover videos meant to embarrass members of the media, politicians or liberal groups, released a recording of Wright criticizing his network. Its videos have been criticized for being selectively edited.
At one point in the video, Wright said ABC News is not "terribly interested in voters" when it comes to covering the 2020 presidential election. He mentioned former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), three Democratic presidential candidates.
Will news organizations take heed and begin cleaning up their reporting?
This isn't the first time ABC has been caught in a Project Veritas sting.
They were also the center of what James O'Keefe described as the "EpsteinCoverup."
O'Keefe released footage that showed that ABC sat on a story involving Jeffrey Epstein up to 3 years before it made national headlines.
“I’ve had the story for three years… we would not put it on the air,” Amy Robach said on set on a hot mic. “It was unbelievable what we had, Clinton, we had everything.”
According to Fox News, an ABC attempted to defend Wright by saying he didn't know who he was taking to:
An ABC insider told Fox News that Wright had been hoodwinked into making his statements on camera.
“Wright and the producer didn’t know who they were talking to. Didn’t know they were being recorded," the insider said. "The person introduced himself as a documentary filmmaker and didn’t say he was recording.”
Wright's recorded comments come during a heated presidential race in which Social Democrat Bernie Sanders has emerged as the early frontrunner to take on Republican Donald Trump. Sanders expressed admiration for some of the accomplishments of communist Cuban leader Fidel Castro in an interview with "60 Minutes" on Sunday, and was booed during the Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday night when he repeated his praise of Cuba's educational system under Castro.
Hoodwinked?
Whether or not Wright knew he was talking to Project Veritas, he hasn't denounced or taken back anything he has said on camera!
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