Terry Moran

Terry Moran (born December 9, 1959) is an American independent journalist who was most recently the Senior National Correspondent at ABC News. Based in Washington, D.C., Moran covered national politics and policy, reporting from the White House, the US Supreme Court, and the campaign trail for all ABC News programs. Previously, Moran served as ABC's Chief Foreign Correspondent from 2013 to 2018; as co-anchor of the ABC News show ''Nightline'' from 2005 to 2013; and as Chief White House Correspondent from 1999 to 2005. On June 8, 2025, after Moran made posts critical of Donald Trump and Stephen Miller, Moran was suspended indefinitely by ABC News and was later fired.

Early life

Moran was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in Mount Prospect, Illinois, and Barrington Hills, Illinois. He graduated from Lawrence University in 1982, where he edited the school newspaper, ''The Lawrentian''.

Career

1990–1996

Moran began his journalism career at ''The New Republic'' magazine and then worked as a reporter and editor at the Washington D.C.–based ''Legal Times''. From 1992 through 1997, Moran worked as a news correspondent and anchor for Court TV, where he rose to national prominence, covering the trials in Los Angeles of Lyle and Erik Menendez and O. J. Simpson, as well as for his reporting on the Bosnian war crimes trials at The Hague and the U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings for justices Clarence Thomas, Stephen Breyer, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

ABC News (1997–2025)

Moran joined ABC News in 1997. After having served as the primary correspondent assigned to the U.S. Supreme Court from 1998 to 1999, he covered Vice President Al Gore's presidential campaign. Moran was ABC News' Chief White House Correspondent from September 1999 to November 2005, covering the presidencies of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. During President Bush's term, he questioned why the President was taking the nation to war on "a series of false pretenses". Moran interviewed Vice President Dick Cheney about surveilling and waterboarding prisoners.

As co-anchor of ''Nightline'', Moran continued his political coverage, reporting on the presidential campaigns of 2008 and 2012, the rise of the Tea Party movement, and other significant developments. He also traveled frequently overseas, covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the "Arab Spring" uprisings in Egypt, Libya, and Syria. As ABC's Chief Foreign Correspondent, Moran led the network's coverage of major international stories, from Brexit to the migrant crisis in Europe, to the civil wars in Syria and Ukraine, to major terror attacks in London, Paris, Brussels, Berlin, and elsewhere.

When he was named ABC's Chief Foreign Correspondent, the then-president of ABC News Ben Sherwood said, "Terry's range as a reporter is exceptional. He is equally adept interviewing a confessed hit man in one of Mexico's most notorious gangs as he is breaking down some of the most complex Supreme Court decisions...A brilliant writer and gifted storyteller, Terry has the ability to see the story no one else sees, explain its importance to the audience, and do it all in a stylish and compelling way."

In April 2017, Moran with Morgan Winsor and Clark Bentson reported on Pope Francis' visit to Egypt after the Palm Sunday church bombings. In May 2017, he with Emily Shapiro reported on the Manchester Arena bombing and Mayor Andy Burnham discussing the leaks to the media. In July 2017, Moran with Karma Allen and Morgan Winsor interviewed Natalia Veselnitskaya about Donald Trump, Jr wanting intel on Hillary Clinton. In September 2017, he reported on Hugh Hefner, the 'revolutionary', who transformed US commerce, not sex.

In October 2017, Moran and Aicha El Hammar Castano reported that Catalan President Carles Puigdemont's speech following a referendum in which voters called for independence. Later in October 2017, he reported on Catalonia's independence from Spain. In December 2017, he reported on Russian President Vladimir Putin that allegations of contact between U.S. and Russian officials during the 2016 election as "all invented." In January 2018, Moran and Justin Doom reported on President Donald Trump attending the World Economic Forum. Also in January, he reported on the state of the United States economy. In February 2018, Moran reported on the 2018 State of the Union Address asking if President Donald Trump was stealing Democrats ideas like paid parental leave, price controls on prescription drugs, and tougher trade agreements. In March 2018, he along with Chris Vlasto and James Gordon Meek reported that former Russian spy Sergey Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, and at least 38 other people in the U.K. were sickened by release of nerve agent. In July 2018, Moran reported on Brett Kavanaugh as a justice on the United States Supreme Court would be a Federalist Society triumph. In October 2018, he with Morgan Winsor reported that Kavanaugh's college roommate claimed he lied under oath about drinking. Later that month, Moran reported that the Washington State Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional.

In January 2019, he along with John Kapetaneas and Lauren Effron reported about hacking in the Romanian city of Râmnicu Vâlcea. In March 2019, Moran reported on the college admissions scandal. In July 2019, Moran and Rick Klein reported on the Mueller Report as the Democrats eyed the 2020 United States presidential election. In November 2019, he reported on the first impeachment of President Donald Trump. In April 2020, Moran and Becky Perlow reported on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic within the Jewish community in the United States. In June 2020, he and Terrance Smith reported on President Donald Trump's views on monument vandals. In March 2021, Moran and Becky Perlow reported on how many people in Maryland were getting vaccinations from a mobile unit and bringing hope. In March 2023, he along with Sasha Pezenik and Kaitlyn Morris reported on new intelligence and scientific reports on COVID. In April 2023, Moran along with Sasha Pezenik, Josh Margolin, and Kaitlyn Morris reported that Senate Republicans believed the theory that COVID-19 emerged from an accidental lab leak in Wuhan -- and possibly, even more than one leak. In late April 2025, Moran would interview President Donald Trump about his first 100 days in office during his second term.

Controversial tweet

On June 8, 2025, Moran was suspended by ABC News for a midnight tweet (which Moran later deleted) about President Donald Trump and his Deputy Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller. The tweet read,
An ABC News spokesperson stated the network "does not condone subjective personal attacks on others. The post does not reflect the views of ABC News and violated our standards." On June 10, 2025, it was announced that ABC would immediately "part ways" with Moran; ABC News had previously said Moran was near the end of his contract term. On June 17, 2025, Moran said that he stood by his post criticizing Trump and his adviser. He said "It wasn’t a drunk tweet" to defend his post of Miller on X.

Post ABC News (2025–present)

On June 11, 2025, Moran announced on X that he would continue his reporting from Substack after not being with ABC News.

Personal life

Moran has been married twice. He married his first wife, Karen Osler, in the late 1980s. They have one child together. In 2015, he became engaged to his second wife, Johanna Cox, a Chinese-language linguist and China intelligence analyst who previously worked as a journalist at ''Elle'' magazine. She was the winner of the reality TV show '' Stylista.'' The couple have three children.

Awards

Over the years, Moran's journalism work has been recognized with many awards, including the George Foster Peabody Award, the Emmy Award, the Merriman Smith Award from the White House Correspondents' Association (twice), and the Thurgood Marshall Journalism Award.

References

External links

Bio

ABC News Blog
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Terry Moran
on Substack
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Moran, Terry
20th-century American journalists
21st-century American journalists
American television news anchors
American television reporters and correspondents
Living people
American expatriates in the United Kingdom
Lawrence University alumni
Journalists from Chicago
American male journalists
Year of birth missing (living people)