Embattled NPR chief Katherine Maher prior to taking the helm at the public network donated $500 to Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight PAC and to other Democrats, according to Federal Elections Commissions records.
Several news outlets have reported on the donations as Maher, who took over NPR last month, faces criticism for old social media posts criticizing former President Donald J. Trump and embracing liberal causes.
Abrams started Fair Fight in 2018 after losing a race to become Georgia governor. Its goal is to promote fair elections in Georgia and around the country.
The uproar at NPR started last week when a senior editor in an essay argued that the broadcaster’s leaders had allowed liberal bias to taint its coverage, risking its trust with audiences.
Uri Berliner wrote that "people at every level of NPR have comfortably coalesced around the progressive worldview."
Berliner on Wednesday said he was resigning because of criticism from Maher.
Many news outlets are now ripping Maher for her past comments and donations, including her $500 contribution in 2020.
"That donation came after Abrams refused to concede the governor’s race (she never did); Abrams concocted false allegations about voting machines switching votes; Abrams’ PAC filed a bogus lawsuit contesting the election," wrote The Center Square’s David Mastio.
"The lawsuit was eventually dismissed, and Fair Fight was forced to pay the state’s legal fees. The double standard here is shocking. After Trump’s lawyers made similar election-machine allegations and fared equally poorly in court, their credibility was shattered," he added.
NPR spokeswoman Isabel Lara said Maher "was not working in journalism at the time and was exercising her First Amendment right to express herself like any other American citizen." Now she is "fully committed to NPR's code of ethics and the independence of NPR's newsroom."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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