El Malón, Johann Moritz Rugendas (1802-1858). The painting depicts a woman being kidnapped during a malón.

In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority. This may be done for ransom or in furtherance of another crime, or in connection with a child custody dispute.

In some countries such as the United States a large number of child abductions arise after separation or divorce when one parent wishes to keep a child against the will of the other or against a court order. In these cases, some jurisdictions^[which?] do not consider it kidnapping if the child, being competent, agrees.

Kidnapping versus abduction[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

In modern usage, kidnapping or abduction of a child is often called child stealing and parental kidnapping, particularly when done not to collect a ransom but rather with the intention of keeping the child permanently (often in a case where the child's parents are divorced or legally separated, whereupon the parent who does not have legal custody will commit the act, also known as "childnapping").

Child abduction can refer to children being taken away without their parents' consent but with the consent of the child.

Kidnapping by jurisdiction[link]

The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (December 2011)

England and Wales[link]

Kidnapping is an offence under the common law of England and Wales.

In R v D,^[1] Lord Brandon said:

First, the nature of the offence is an attack on, and infringement of, the personal liberty of an individual. Secondly, the offence contains four ingredients as follows: (1) the taking or carrying away of one person by another; (2) by force or fraud; (3) without the consent of the person so taken or carried away; and (4) without lawful excuse.^[2]

The following cases are relevant:

• R v Reid [1973] QB 299, [1972] 3 WLR 395, [1972] 2 All ER 1350, 56 Cr App R 703, [1972] Crim LR 553, CA
• R v Wellard [1978] 1 WLR 921, [1978] 3 All ER 161, 67 Cr App R 364, CA
• R v Cort [2003] EWCA Crim 2149, [2003] 3 WLR 1300, [2004] 1 Cr App R 18, CA
• R v Hendy-Freegard,^[3] [2007] EWCA Crim 1236, [2007] 3 WLR 488, The Times, May 30, 2007^[4]

Kidnapping of children

In all cases where it is alleged that a child has been kidnapped, it is the absence of the consent of that child which is material. This is case regardless of the age of the child. A young child will not have the understanding or intelligence to consent. This means that absence of consent will be a necessary inference from the age of the child. It is a question of fact for the jury whether an older child has sufficient understanding and intelligence to consent.^[5] Lord Brandon said:

I should not expect a jury to find at all frequently that a child under fourteen had sufficient understanding and intelligence to give its consent.^[6]

If the child (being capable of doing so) did consent to being taken or carried away, the fact that the person having custody or care and control of that child did not consent to that child being taken or carried away is immaterial. If, on the other hand, the child did not consent, the consent of the person having custody or care and control of the child may support a defence of lawful excuse.^[5]

Charging child abduction and kidnapping in the same indictment

See R v C [1991] 2 FLR 252, [1991] Fam Law 522, CA

Restriction on prosecution

No prosecution may be instituted, except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions, for an offence of kidnapping if it was committed against a child under the age of sixteen and by a person connected with the child, within the meaning of section 1 of the Child Abduction Act 1984.^[7]

Mode of trial

Kidnapping is an indictable-only offence.^[8]

Sentence

Kidnapping is punishable with imprisonment or fine at the discretion of the court. There is no limit on the fine or the term of imprisonment that may be imposed provided the sentence is not inordinate.^[9]

See:

• R v Spence and Thomas, 5 Cr App R (S) 413, [1984] Crim LR 372, CA
• Crown Prosecution Service sentencing manual^[10]

CPS guidance

See:

• Prosecuting cases of child abuse^[11]
• Offences against the person^[12] (see the section headed "other relevant offences")

It invariably includes committing false imprisonment, which is the common-law offence of intentionally or recklessly detaining the victim without lawful authority. The use of force to take and detain will also be regarded as an assault, and other, related offences may also be committed before, during, or after the detention.^{[citation needed]}

A parent should only be prosecuted for kidnapping his own child "in exceptional cases, where the conduct of the parent concerned is so bad that an ordinary right-thinking person would immediately and without hesitation regard it as criminal in nature".^[5][13]

United States[link]

Law in the United States follows from English common law. Following the highly publicized 1932 Lindbergh kidnapping, Congress passed the Federal Kidnapping Act, which authorized the FBI to investigate kidnapping at a time when the Bureau was expanding in size and authority. The fact that a kidnapped victim may have been taken across state lines brings the crime within the ambit of federal criminal law.

Most states recognize different types of kidnapping and punish accordingly. e.g. New York bases its definition of first-degree kidnapping on the duration and purpose.^[14] There are several deterrents to kidnapping in the United States of America. Among these are:

1. The extreme logistical challenges involved in successfully exchanging the money for the return of the victim without being apprehended or surveiled.
2. Harsh punishment. Convicted kidnappers face lengthy prison terms. If a victim is brought across state lines, federal charges can be laid as well.
3. Good cooperation and information sharing between law enforcement agencies, and tools for spreading information to the public (such as the AMBER Alert system. )

In 2010 the United States was ranked sixth in the world for kidnapping for ransom, according to the available statistics (after Colombia, Italy, Lebanon, Peru, and the Philippines).^[15]

Phoenix, Arizona is the kidnapping capital of America. With 370 cases in 2010, Phoenix is ranked second in the world (ranked first is Mexico City).^[16]

One notorious failed example of kidnap for ransom was the 1976 Chowchilla bus kidnapping, in which 26 children were abducted with the intention of bringing in a $5 million ransom. The children and driver escaped from an underground van without the aid of law enforcement.^[17]

Thought to be a bride kidnapping in-progress in Central Asia, circa 1870.

According to the department of justice kidnapping makes up 2% of all reported violent crimes against juveniles.^[16]

According to a 2003 Domestic Violence Report in Colorado, out of a survey of 189 incidents, most people (usually white females) are taken from their homes or residence by a present or former spouse or significant other. They are usually taken by force, not by weapon, and usually the victims are not injured when they are freed.

Named forms[link]

• Bride kidnapping is a term often applied loosely, to include any bride 'abducted' against the will of her parents, even if she is willing to marry the 'abductor'. It still is traditional amongst certain nomadic peoples of Central Asia. It has seen a resurgence in Kyrgyzstan since the fall of the Soviet Union and the subsequent erosion of women's rights.^[18]
• Express kidnapping is a method of abduction used in some countries, mainly from Latin America,^[19] where a small ransom, that a company or family can easily pay, is demanded.
• Tiger kidnapping is taking a hostage to make a loved one or associate of the victim do something, e.g. a child is taken hostage to force the shopkeeper to open the safe. The term originates from the usually long preceding observation, like a tiger does on the prowl.

Statistics[link]

Kidnapping for ransom is a common occurrence in various parts of the world today, and certain cities and countries are often described as the "Kidnapping Capital of the World." As of 2007, that title belongs to Iraq with possibly 1,500 foreigners kidnapped.^[22][23] In 2004, it was Mexico,^[24] and in 2001, it was Colombia.^[25] Statistics are harder to come by. Reports suggest a world total of 12,500-25,500/year with 3,600/year in Colombia and 3,000/year in Mexico around the year 2000.^[26] However by 2006, the number of kidnappings in Colombia had declined to 687 and it continues to decline.^[27] Mexican numbers are hard to confirm because of fears of police involvement in kidnapping.^[28] "Kidnapping seems to flourish particularly in fragile states and conflict countries, as politically motivated militias, organized crime and the drugs mafia fill the vacuum left by government."^[21]

In 2009, the Los Angeles Times named Phoenix, Arizona^[29] as America's kidnapping capital, reporting that every year hundreds of ransom kidnappings occur there, virtually all within the underworld associated with human and drug smuggling from Mexico, and often done as a way of collecting unpaid debts. Other major U.S. cities that are hotbeds for kidnappings are Detroit, Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, and Chicago.^[29] Many of them are done by major street gangs near tourist attractions.

During the year 1999 in the United States, 203,900 children were reported as the victims of family abductions and 58,200 of non-family abductions. However, only 115 were the result of "stereotypical" kidnaps (by someone unknown or of slight acquaintance to the child, held permanently or for ransom).^[30]

In the past, and presently in some parts of the world (such as southern Sudan), kidnapping is a common means used to obtain slaves and money through ransom. In less recent times, kidnapping in the form of shanghaiing (or "pressganging") men was used to supply merchant ships in the 19th century with sailors, whom the law considered unfree labour.^{[citation needed]}

Kidnapping on the high seas in connection with piracy has been increasing. It was reported that 661 crewmembers were taken hostage and 12 kidnapped in the first 9 months of 2009.^[31]

Criminal gangs are estimated to make up to $500 million a year in ransom payments from kidnapping.^[32]

Kidnapping has been identified as one source by which terrorists organizations have been known to obtain funding.^[33]

The Perri, Lichtenwald and MacKenzie article identified Tiger kidnapping as a specific method used by a known terrorist organization, although which terrorist cell conducted the intelligence gathering, which terrorist cell made direct contact, and which terrorist cells shared in the profit prior to forwarding the monies obtained from the kidnapping up to the top organization members is not known for certain.

See also[link]

Arrested kidnappers in Rio lying on the ground

• Extraordinary rendition
• Fetal abduction
• Forced disappearance
• Hostage
• Human trafficking
• International child abduction
• Kidnap and ransom insurance
• Kidnappings in Colombia
• List of kidnappings
• Rape
• Stockholm syndrome is a term used to describe the relationship a hostage can build with their kidnapper.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Damien Lewis; Mende Nazer (2003). Slave. New York: Public Affairs. p. 368. ISBN 1-58648-212-2. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kidnapping

Look up kidnapping in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikinews has related news: Kidnapping

• Snatched: Notorious Kidnappings — slideshow by Life magazine
• Insight News documentary: China's Kidnapped Wives
• Court TV's - Criminal Psychology of child abduction
• Kidnap and Ransom activities around the world: Havocscope Black Market

v t e Types of crime Note: Crimes vary by jurisdiction. Not all types are listed here. Classes Infraction · Misdemeanor · Felony · Summary · Indictable · Hybrid Against the person Assault · Battery · Cannibalism · Extortion · Harassment · Kidnapping · Identity theft · Manslaughter (corporate) · Murder · Rape · Robbery · Sexual assault Against property Arson · Blackmail · Burglary · Deception · Embezzlement · False pretenses · Fraud · Handling · Larceny · Theft · Vandalism Against public order Drug possession Against the state Tax evasion · Espionage · Treason Against justice Bribery · Misprision of felony · Obstruction · Perjury · Malfeasance in office Inchoate offenses Accessory · Attempt · Conspiracy · Incitement · Solicitation · Common purpose WikiSource · Wikimedia Commons · Wikiquote · Wikinews

v t e English criminal law Part of the common law series Classes of crimes Common law Indictable Either way Summary Regulatory Lesser included Elements of crimes Actus reus Causation Mens rea Intention (criminal law) Intention in English law Recklessness Criminal negligence Corporate / Vicarious / Strict liability Omissions Concurrence Ignorantia juris non excusat Inchoate offences Encouraging or assisting crime Conspiracy Accessory Attempt Common purpose Defences Self-defence Duress Necessity Marital coercion Consent Insanity Diminished responsibility Intoxication Category:Criminal defences Offences against the person Homicide (Murder / Manslaughter / Corporate manslaughter / Infanticide) Child destruction Wounding or causing grievous bodily harm Assault occasioning actual bodily harm Common assault Battery Kidnapping False imprisonment Harassment Offences against the Person Act 1861 Sexual offences Rape Sexual assault Sexual Offences Act 2003 Public order offences Riot Violent disorder Affray Fear or provocation of violence Intentional harassment, alarm or distress Harassment, alarm or distress Public Order Act 1986 Nuisance Public nuisance Offences against property Dishonesty Burglary Robbery Theft Taken Without Owner's Consent (TWOC) Deception Handling stolen goods Blackmail Computer crime Theft Act 1968 Theft Act 1978 Fraud Act 2006 Criminal damage Conspiracy to defraud Forgery, personation and cheating Forgery Cheating the public revenue Offences against justice Bribery Perjury Perverting the course of justice Other common law areas Contract Tort Property Wills Trusts and estates Evidence See also Criminal procedure History Law of England and Wales portal Criminal justice portal

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2011)

George Stephanopoulos
Stephanopoulos at Tulane University in April 2009.
Born	George Robert Stephanopoulos (1961-02-10) February 10, 1961 (age 51) Fall River, Massachusetts, United States
Ethnicity	Greek
Education	Columbia University (B.A.) Balliol College, Oxford University (M.A)
Occupation	Television journalist political advisor
Years active	1982–present
Salary	$8 million (per year) [1]
Title	Good Morning America Co-Anchor (since 2009) This Week Host (since 2012) ABC News Chief Political Correspondent (since 2005)
Political party	Democratic Party
Religion	Greek Orthodox
Spouse	Alexandra Wentworth
Children	Elliott Anastasia Stephanopoulos[2] Harper Andrea Stephanopoulos[2]
Family	Parents:[2] Nickolitsa Gloria (née Chafos) Stephanopoulos Robert George Stephanopoulos
Website
http://abcnews.go.com/gma/georgestephanopoulos George module at Good Morning America,

George Robert Stephanopoulos (born February 10, 1961) is an American television journalist and a former political advisor.

Stephanopoulos rose to early prominence as a quick-witted communications director for the 1992 U.S. presidential campaign of Bill Clinton^[3], subsequently becoming White House Communications Director then Senior Advisor for Policy and Strategy before departing in December 1996. Today he is chief political correspondent for ABC News, co-anchor of ABC News' Good Morning America (GMA), host of ABC's Sunday morning This Week,^[4] and primary substitute for ABC network anchor Diane Sawyer on ABC World News.^[5]

In recent years he has co-hosted ABC News' special live coverage of political events with Sawyer and Charles Gibson and launched an ABCNews.com blog, George's Bottom Line.

Stephanopoulos is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.^[6]

Early life and education[link]

Stephanopoulos was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, to Greek immigrants, Robert George and Nickolitsa ("Nikki") Gloria (née Chafos) Stephanopoulos.

His father is a Greek Orthodox priest and Dean Emeritus of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New York City^[2], and his mother was for many years director of the national news service of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.^[2] Young George also became a follower of his parents' faith and long considered entering the priesthood himself.

Following some time in Purchase, New York, Stephanopoulos attended suburban Cleveland, Ohio's Orange High School, where he wrestled competitively. In 1982, he received his bachelor of arts degree in political science from Columbia University in New York, where he was a sports broadcaster for WKCR-FM, the university's radio station. Stephanopoulos was the salutatorian of his class and was also awarded a Harry S. Truman Scholarship.^[7]

Stephanopoulos speaking at Virginia Tech in March 2006

Stephanopoulos's father always wanted his son to become a lawyer, if not a priest. Promising him he would attend law school eventually, George took a job as an aide to Cleveland congressman Ed Feighan in Washington, D.C.. Though he rose to Feighan's chief of staff, Stephanopoulos agreed to cede to his father's wishes and attend law school if he succeeded in a second attempt to earn a Rhodes Scholarship after having been rejected for the Rhodes Scholarship during his senior year at Columbia. He earned a M.A. in Theology at Balliol College. He maintains he spent much of his time trying to root his political leanings in the deeper philosophies that he studied there.

Early career[link]

In 1988, Stephanopoulos worked on the Michael Dukakis 1988 U.S. presidential campaign. He has noted that one of his attractions to this campaign was that Dukakis was a Greek-American liberal from Massachusetts.^[8] After this campaign, Stephanopoulos became the "floor man" for Dick Gephardt, U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader; he held this position until he joined the Clinton campaign.

Clinton Administration[link]

Stephanopoulos was, along with David Wilhelm and James Carville, a leading member of Clinton's 1992 U.S. presidential campaign. His role on the campaign is portrayed in the documentary film The War Room (1993).

At the outset of Clinton's presidency, Stephanopoulos served as the de facto press secretary, briefing the press even though Dee Dee Myers was officially the White House Press Secretary. Later, he was moved to Senior Advisor on Policy and Strategy, when Myers began personally conducting the briefings (following several verbal missteps by Stephanopoulos) and David Gergen was brought in as the new White House Communications Director. The move was largely viewed as a rebuke to Stephanopoulos's handling of public relations during the first six months of the Clinton administration.

On February 25, 1994, Stephanopoulos and Harold Ickes had a conference call with Roger Altman to discuss the Resolution Trust Corporation's choice of Republican lawyer Jay Stephens to head the Madison Guaranty investigation, that later turned into the Whitewater controversy.^[9]

Stephanopoulos resigned from the Clinton administration shortly after Clinton was re-elected in 1996.^[10]

His memoir, All Too Human: A Political Education (1999), was published after he left the White House during Clinton's second term. It quickly became a number-one bestseller on The New York Times Best Seller list.^[11] In the book, Stephanopoulos spoke of his depression and how his face broke out into hives due to the pressures of conveying the Clinton White House message. Clinton referred to the book in his autobiography, My Life, apologizing for what he felt in retrospect to be excessive demands placed on the young staffer.

Stephanopoulos's book covers his time with Clinton from the day he met him in September 1991 to the day Stephanopoulos left the White House in December 1996, through two presidential campaigns and four years in the White House. Stephanopoulos describes Clinton in the book as a "complicated man responding to the pressures and pleasures of public life in ways I found both awesome and appalling."^[12]

Real Estate Loan Controversy[link]

In 1994, columnist Jack Anderson reported that Stephanopoulos sealed an $835,000 commercial real estate deal consisting of a two-story apartment including an eyeware retailer with a below-market loan rate from a bank owned by Hugh McColl who had been called by President Clinton "the most enlightened banker in America." A NationsBank commercial loan officer said that this loan did "not fit our product matrix" as banks typically only offer such loans for customers with deep pockets and on a short-term adjustable rate basis. Stephanopoulos' real estate agent explained that "nobody making $125,000 could qualify for the property without the commercial property (lease)." One former senior bank regulator told Anderson that, "If his name were George Smith, and he didn't work in the White House, this loan wouldn't have gotten made."^[13] Regarding the controversy, NationsBank stated, "The loan described by Jack Anderson as a commercial loan to George Stephanopoulos was, in fact, a residential mortgage loan. At the time the loan commitment was made, Mr. Anderson (or his imaginary 'George Smith' who 'doesn't work in the White House') could have walked into any NationsBanc Mortgage Company office in the DC area and received the same excellent rate and term for the same deal."^[14] However, Stephanopoulos' realtor states that he would not have qualified for the loan without the commercial property rent. One NationsBank source states that the issuance of a residential loan on mixed-use properties is such a rarity that it wasn't even addressed in the "NationsBanc Mortgage Corporation's Program Summary" or its "Credit Policy Manual." A NationsBanc underwriting memo revealed that one of the three restrictions for mixed-use properties is that "the borrower must be the owner of the business entity." The source claims that NationsBanc told the listing agent that, "We're not (interested in mixed-use properties), but we do have an appetite for this particular loan." NationsBank's primary regulator at the time was Comptroller of the Currency Eugene Ludwig, a Rhodes scholar who attended Yale Law School will President Clinton, and who had been asked to investigate NationsBank by Democratic congressmen Henry B. Gonzalez and John Dingell.^[15]

ABC News[link]

After leaving the White House at the end of Clinton's first term, Stephanopoulos became a political analyst for ABC News and served as a correspondent on This Week, the Sunday morning public affairs program; World News Tonight, the evening news broadcast; GMA, the morning news program; along with other various special broadcasts.

[edit] This Week host

In September 2002, Stephanopoulos became host of This Week, and ABC News officially named him "Chief Washington Correspondent" in December 2005.^[16] The program's title added the new host's name.

When named to the position, Stephanopoulos was a relative newcomer to the show, usurping longtime panelists and short-term co-hosts Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts who, for a few years, briefly replaced the long-term original host, David Brinkley.

Opinion columnist and part-time ABC News commentator George Will is the only remaining member of the original This Week panel from the Brinkley days to participate consistently in the weekly show; Donaldson and Roberts still appear on the program on a very limited basis. Fareed Zakaria was a weekly panelist during the first two years of Stephanopoulos's tenure, broadening the show with his perspective on world and Middle Eastern issues.

[edit] This Week ratings

ABC News executives reportedly offered Ted Koppel, former Nightline anchor, the This Week host job in 2005 after the program's ratings had become a regular third-, fourth-, and sometimes fifth-place finish after competitors NBC, CBS, Fox and syndicated programs.^[17] However, This Week beat Meet the Press on January 11, 2009, when Stephanopoulos interviewed president-elect Barack Obama.^[18]

In February 2009, the gap between NBC's Meet the Press and its competitors – CBS's Face the Nation and ABC's This Week – began closing. Meet the Press posted its lowest ratings since NBC's David Gregory became moderator in early February, with the show airing Sunday, February 1, averaging just 3.9 million viewers. Face the Nation averaged 3.33 million total viewers, while This Week came in just behind with 3.32 million total viewers.

2008 U.S. presidential debate[link]

On April 16, 2008, Stephanopoulos co-moderated, with Charles Gibson, the twenty-first, and ultimately final, Democratic Party presidential debate between Illinois Senator Barack Obama and New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for the 2008 election cycle. While the debate received record ratings, the co-moderators were heavily criticized for focusing most of the first hour of the debate on controversies that occurred during the campaign rather than issues such as the economy and the Iraq War. Stephanopoulos acknowledged the legitimacy of the concerns over the order of the questions,^[19] but said they were issues in the campaign that had not been covered in previous debates.^[20]

[edit] Good Morning America co-host

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen is interviewed by Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos

In December 2009, the ABC News president offered Stephanopoulos Sawyer's job on GMA after Sawyer was named anchor of World News. Stephanopoulos accepted the new position and started on December 14, 2009. Stephanopoulos announced on January 10, 2010, that that would be his last broadcast as the permanent host of This Week. He is now the co-host of Good Morning America. It was announced that he would return as host of This Week in December 2011.

[edit] World News Tonight

Stephanopoulos substitutes for Sawyer on nights when she is away on assignment or unavailable.

On May 1, 2011, Stephanopoulos broke into regular programming at approximately 10:15 p.m. to provide coverage of a special U.S. presidential address, which ended up being that Osama Bin Laden had been killed. He hosted coverage along with Christiane Amanpour, David Muir and Brian Ross through 1:00 a.m.

Criticism[link]

Stephanopoulos was quoted in a January 27, 2009, article "Power, Politics, Gossip on a Daily Call" by John F. Harris in The Politico. The article was about a daily call Stephanopoulos participates in with his friends Carville, Rahm Emanuel, and Paul Begala. Harris describes the call as " a street-corner bull session between four old friends who suddenly find themselves standing once more at the busiest intersection of politics and media in Washington."^[21]

In the article, Stephanopoulos says he does not surrender his reputation as an independent journalist during the daily information-sharing calls. "We are all good friends," Stephanopoulos is quoted as saying. "We just like talking to each other, and I learn a lot from it ... and that's why we have been doing it for so long."^[21]

After the article ran, conservative media critic Brent Bozell and some conservative bloggers launched a campaign against Stephanopoulos: "Will Stephanopoulos be critical of the White House’s plans when he spends every morning helping to craft them? Not likely. He must from this point forward recuse himself from any reporting involving the Obama administration," Bozell said in a press release. Conservatives deluged ABC with emails and calls on the topic.^[22]

The Politico's Ben Smith reported: "I don't think they have the story quite right, nor does its author, John Harris, who emails: 'The calls are certainly a fascinating Washington ritual, but by no means do I think George Stephanopoulos is participating in strategy sessions. To my mind, he established his journalistic bona fides more than a decade ago, even as the Clinton administration was still underway, when he showed his willingness to report aggressively on Democrats as well as Republicans.'"^[22]

Online[link]

During the 2008 presidential election campaign, Stephanopoulos launched a blog George's Bottom Line on the website of ABC News.^[23] Stephanopoulos blogs about political news and analysis from Washington.^[24]

In October 2008, Stephanopoulos began posting updates to Twitter, a social-networking website. He also launched a public profile page on Facebook, another social-networking website.^[25]

In popular culture[link]

Stephanopoulos was the inspiration for the character of Henry Burton in Joe Klein's novel Primary Colors (1996). Burton was subsequently portrayed by Adrian Lester in the 1998 film adaptation.

Michael J. Fox's character, Lewis Rothschild, in the film The American President (1995), written by Aaron Sorkin was modeled after Stephanopoulos. He was also used by Sorkin as the model for Rob Lowe's character, Sam Seaborn, on the television drama series The West Wing. Fox based his portrayal on Stephanopoulos as well.^{[citation needed][clarification needed]} According to Stephanopoulos, his role in the Clinton administration was more like Bradley Whitford's character Josh Lyman than Seaborn or Rothschild.^[26]

In an episode of the first season of the TV series Friends titled The One With George Stephanopoulos, the characters of Monica Geller, Rachel Green and Phoebe Buffay realize that Stephanopoulos is staying in an apartment across the street from theirs and, being attracted to him, they proceed to spy on him throughout most of the night.

Stephanopoulos appeared in the Pawn Stars episode "Buy the Book", where he bought a first edition of Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls for $675, after haggling with owner Rick Harrison.

Awards[link]

Stephanopoulos returned to his alma mater, Columbia University, in 2003, serving as the keynote speaker at Columbia College's Class Day.^[27]

In May 2007, he received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from St. John's University in New York City.

Personal life[link]

He is married to Alexandra Wentworth,^[28] an actress, comedian and writer. The couple have two daughters – Elliott Anastasia Stephanopoulos^[2] and Harper Andrea Stephanopoulos;^[2] the family lives in New York City.

In 1995, after a collision with a parked vehicle as he was pulling out of a parking space in front of a restaurant in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C,^[29] Stephanopoulos was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an accident and driving with an expired license and license plates. Only the charge of leaving the scene of an accident was subsequently dropped.^{[citation needed]}

Along with a number of other notable Greek Americans, he is a founding member of The Next Generation Initiative, a leadership program aimed at getting students involved in public affairs.

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Journalism portal
	Television portal

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Clinton, Bill (2005). My Life. Vintage (New York City). ISBN 1-4000-3003-X.
• Stephanopoulos, George (1999). All Too Human – A Political Education. Little, Brown (Boston, Massachusetts). ISBN 978-0-316-92919-6.

External links[link]

• abcnews.com/thisweek, This Week with George Stephanopoulos official website
• blogs.abcnews.com/george, George's Bottom Line, an ABC News blog by Stephanopoulos
• George Stephanopoulos on Twitter
• George Stephanopoulos at the Internet Movie Database