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Journalist Defends His Foundation’s Grant Making

By  Peter Panepento
June 23, 2008

The journalist Bob Woodward says his private foundation “rigorously” follows federal laws that spell out how much money it should pay out in grants.

Mr. Woodward’s philanthropy has been called into question following reports by Harper’s Magazine that he has been accepting payments for speeches — a practice the magazine says damages his credibility as a reporter.

The Woodward Walsh Foundation in Washington, which Mr. Woodward manages along with his wife, Elsa Walsh, receives money he collects for his public appearances.

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The journalist Bob Woodward says his private foundation “rigorously” follows federal laws that spell out how much money it should pay out in grants.

Mr. Woodward’s philanthropy has been called into question following reports by Harper’s Magazine that he has been accepting payments for speeches — a practice the magazine says damages his credibility as a reporter.

The Woodward Walsh Foundation in Washington, which Mr. Woodward manages along with his wife, Elsa Walsh, receives money he collects for his public appearances.

Mr. Woodward provided a copy of the foundation’s 2008 Form 990 informational tax form to Deborah Howell, who serves as the newspaper’s ombudsman, as part of the paper’s review of his public-speaking appearances to determine whether Mr. Woodward and another reporter, David Broder, had violated the Post’s ethics policy by accepting payments for public speeches.

The latest form shows the foundation gave nearly $108,000 in grants to charities — the largest of which was a $51,000 gift to Sidwell Friends School in Washington.

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A Chronicle review of the foundation’s previous tax forms showed that it distributed more than $17,500 to charities in 2007 and another $135,000 to groups in 2006.

“The question is: Where does the money go? I don’t keep the money,” Mr. Woodward told Ms. Howell. “It’s a straight shot into the foundation that gives money to legitimate charities. I think that’s doing good work.”

Mr. Woodward has not returned calls to his office seeking comment. Harper’s’ Washington editor Ken Silverstein said in an e-mail message that he has also received no response from the journalist, who along with Carl Bernstein uncovered the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post.

Mr. Silverstein wrote in a post on the Harper’s Web site that Mr. Woodward is using his foundation to justify a practice that he said poses a conflict of interest.

“St. Woodward can don his halo and gaze in the mirror all he likes, but he really shouldn’t treat Post readers with such contempt,” Mr. Silverstein wrote. “The facts are clear. He reaps significant tax savings by giving the fees to a ‘charity’ that gives away a small fraction of its assets, and by far the biggest beneficiary of his foundation is Sidwell Friends, the elite private school sitting atop a reported $30-million endowment and attended by his own children.”

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We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
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