Walter sorry for ethical conflict
Television journalist Barbara Walters has apologized for trying to help a former aide to Syrian President Bashar Assad land a job or get into college in the United States.
The ABC veteran acknowledged the conflict in trying to help Sheherazad Jaafari, daughter of the Syrian ambassador to the United States and a onetime press aide to Assad. Jaafari helped Walters land an interview with the Syrian president that aired in December.
Walters said in a statement issued Tuesday that she rejected Jaafari’s later request for a job at ABC News, saying it was a conflict of interest. But she said she contacted people on Jaafari’s behalf and “I regret that.”
The interview with Assad in the midst of the Syrian uprising was considered tough.
Despite her help, Walters noted that Jaafari did not get a job or admission to college.
ABC News President Ben Sherwood had no comment, a network spokesman said Wednesday.
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