Matt Lauer is a past member of the Clinton Global Initiative as are other 'journalists.' Why is Matt Lauer 'moderating' a presidential election forum featuring Hillary Clinton and Trump?

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9/1/16, "Matt Lauer Will Moderate The First Forum Between Donald Trump And Hillary Clinton," Daily Caller, Kaitlan Collins

"Matt Lauer will moderate the first forum between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

On Wednesday, Sept. 7, NBC News and MSNBC — along with the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America — will host the the Commander-in-Chief Forum in New York City.

It will be a one-hour forum where Clinton and Trump will answer questions about national security, military affairs and veterans issues in front of an audience mainly made up of members of the military. The two candidates will not be on the stage at the same time, but will instead go back to back.

It’s worth noting that Lauer is listed as a “notable past member” on the Clinton Global Initiative’s website — along with Anderson Cooper and Katie Couric
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In the past, a Clinton Foundation official has said that the journalists who are part of the foundation were never asked to pay the $20,000 member fee.

“In fact, in 2012, we reclassified members of the media who participate as ‘guests’ rather than ‘members’ to acknowledge this distinction,” the official has said."

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May 15, 2015, "Stephanopoulos Was Also Member of Clinton Global Initiative, Along with These 13 Big Media Names," MediaIte, Andrew Kirell

"While ABC’s This Week moderator George Stephanopoulos is in hot water for failing to disclose his donations to the Clinton Foundation while reporting on the philanthropic organization, it turns out he was also once a member of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), a leadership arm of the foundation. And many other media stars were as well.... 

The list includes: CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Christiane Amanpour, Fox’s Greta Van Susteren, NBC’s Matt Lauer and Tom Brokaw, New York Times‘s Thomas Friedman and Nicholas Kristof,...Yahoo’s Katie Couric, The Economist‘s Matthew Bishop, and Financial Times‘ Lionel Barber.
 

It’s unclear whether any or all of these CGI members paid the $20,000 fee. We reached out to the organization for comment on when these media stars were members and if they received complimentary membership or not, but have not heard back.

As CGI’s website notes, membership benefits include an invitation to its annual meeting and an array of networking opportunities. Bier noted that, at one point, members had access to an invite-only website with “‘a member directory, a messaging system, and commitment information,’ but it’s not clear if that website still exists.”

UPDATE — 5:04 p.m. ET: A Clinton Foundation official tells Mediaite that journalists who moderate panels and participate in CGI events are not asked to pay a membership fee.
“In fact, in 2012, we reclassified members of the media who participate as “guests” rather than “members” to acknowledge this distinction,” the official added. 

UPDATE — 10/14/15 1:04 p.m. ET: Fox Business reached out to Mediaite to confirm that Maria Bartiromo has never been a member of the Clinton Global Initiative."



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