Report: Hillary and Bill Clinton tried to get a critic yanked from MSNBC


Hillary and Bill Clinton lobbied MSNBC's parent company, General Electric, to drop a contributor who made a prostitution metaphor in reference to their daughter Chelsea, according to a new book from Daniel Halper, an editor with the conservative Weekly Standard. The book debuts Tuesday, but Politico's Hadas Gold already has the details:
"According to a source close to the situation, the Clintons called people on the board of NBC's parent company General Electric to say, 'Well, this is outrageous, how NBC News and MSNBC are handling this, and we need to do something about it,'" Halper writes. "Before long, GE's chairman Jeffrey Immelt was on the phone with Jeff Zucker, the president and CEO of NBC Universal at the time, and (former NBC News president) Steve Capus asking, 'What the hell is going on over there? Why are my board members talking about the reporter, and why is your reporter referring to Chelsea as a prostitute?'" [Politico]
Chelsea Clinton campaigned on her mother's behalf in 2008, leading MSNBC's David Shuster to remark that it seemed she was "sort of being pimped out in some weird sort of way." Outraged, the Clinton camp threatened to pull out of an upcoming MSNBC-sponsored debate. The network eventually apologized and suspended Shuster.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
-
The countries around the world without jury trials
The Explainer Legal systems in much of continental Europe and Asia do not rely on randomly selected members of the public
-
How did the Wagner Group recruit young British men for arson attack?
Today's Big Question Russian operatives have been using encrypted messaging apps to groom saboteurs across Europe
-
The best graphic novels
The Week Recommends These inventive illustrated books will transport you to another world
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin on August 1, with rates ranging from 25% to 40% on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'
Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration