Authored by Luis Cornelio via Headline USA,
MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton is yet again facing new criticism amid a report that revealed he awarded himself nearly $1 million in bonuses through his tax-exempt nonprofit, the National Action Network (NAN).
According to Fox News, Sharpton reported several compensation bonuses within his nonprofit that at times exceeded his base salary as evident in the non-profit’s tax filings.
In 2016, he paid himself $437,355 for “bonus & incentive compensation,” far more than his annual salary of $250,000. This practice seemingly began in 2014 when he granted himself $64,000.
In 2018, Sharpton received a bonus of $159,596, in addition to his $324,000 salary for that year. He also listed $563,352 in “other reportable compensation” that same year.
In 2021, he awarded himself a $278,503 bonus on top of his $348,174 salary, which amounted to 80 percent of his base pay. Over just seven years, Sharpton pocketed $940,053 in so-called compensation and bonuses.
It is not immediately clear whether such bonus practices are typical in other nonprofits. It is also unclear how often the IRS scrutinizes these generous bonuses.
Al Sharpton pocketed nearly $1 million in bonuses from his National Action Network nonprofit https://t.co/TY166DXZdZ
— Fox News (@FoxNews) December 11, 2024
Sharpton did not immediately respond to requests for comments from Fox News. However, this is not the first time Sharpton’s financial affairs have come under scrutiny.
In November, Sharpton came under fire after his non-profit accepted a $500,000 donation from Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign ahead of a soft interview he conducted with her.
These donations, which came in the form of two $250,000 donations, were made in September and October and only became public after Harris lost the 2024 election to President-elect Donald Trump.
The Washington Free Beacon reported that the Harris donation to Sharpton’s non-profits blindsided MSNBC. “MSNBC was unaware of the donations made to the National Action Network,” a spokesperson told the Free Beacon.
An unnamed current MSNBC employee rebuked Sharpton’s acceptance of the donations, calling the affairs “another level of nonsense” and straight up “weird.”
“Harris could have given Al Sharpton an interview, and it would have gone the same way. But what are you paying for? … There’s no way that this can’t seem weird,” the employee added. “Everybody knows who Al Sharpton is … but this feels like a bridge too far. A big bridge too far … This is not landing well. This has a bit of a dirty feel to it … These things happen and they don’t bounce around MSNBC all that much. Like people just don’t care.”
NEW: Kamala Harris’ campaign dished out $500k to Al Sharpton’s nonprofit just weeks before her big interview with him.
So… was the Harris campaign just one big money laundering scheme?
According to the Washington Free Beacon, the Harris campaign sent one $250k payment on… pic.twitter.com/L79LVVzmK1
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 12, 2024
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