The Federal Election Commission reportedly confirmed that the designation “presumptive nominee,” which has been used by CNN to justify exclusive debate invitations to Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump ahead of their respective party’s national conventions, is not officially recognized by FEC regulations.
According to a report published by KITV4 Island News this week, an FEC spokesperson confirmed that the designation “presumptive nominee,” which CNN has cited to justify its direct inclusion of Biden and Trump in a debate set for later this month, is “not in the FEC’s debate regulation.” However, the FEC spokesperson said they could not elaborate further on the discrepancy due to a complaint filed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last month over CNN’s adoption of the debate criteria. KITV4 Island News also spoke with Commission on Presidential Debates co-chairman Frank Fahrenkopf and several Secretaries of State.
Kennedy filed a formal complaint with the FEC on May 28, claiming that CNN, in conjunction with the campaigns of Joe Biden and Donald Trump, engaged in flagrant violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act. In his complaint, Kennedy argues that the debate criteria used are neither objective nor pre-established, and that the requirement for candidates to be on enough ballots to win 270 electoral votes by June is not realistic until after a party holds its national convention. Failing to use objective criteria while automatically including Biden and Trump as “presumptive nominees” would mean the debate constitutes a campaign contribution, subject to strict donation limits.
In a press release on Tuesday, the Kennedy campaign reiterated its call for CNN to apply its criteria objectively, stating that a failure to do so amounts to a willful violation of campaign finance law, and that the FEC should prevent the debate from taking place until an agreement can be reached that complies with the Federal Election Campaign Act.
“Now, with FEC’s recent statement, it appears beyond doubt the debate will, absent Kennedy’s participation, violate campaign finance laws and that CNN and its staff are knowingly and willfully violating these laws,” the campaign stated. “As explained in the FEC complaint, ‘By demanding our campaign meet different criteria to participate in the debate than Presidents Biden and Trump, CNN’s debate violates FEC law and is a large prohibited corporate contribution to both the Biden and Trump campaigns.'”
Why shouldn’t CNN have the right to invite whatever candidates it wants, and not invite whichever ones it doesn’t, by whatever criteria it wants to set, including random whim? Are newspapers contributing to candidates they interview, as opposed to others they don’t? Granted, CNN criteria have an unjust double standard, and are hypocritical in that they already promised Biden that Kennedy would not be there, while he theoretically (but unlikely) still could qualify under their tilted rules.
But their credibility should be between them, their viewers, their competitors, their advertisers – no one is forced to watch them (I rarely do anymore). Government involving itself is too heavy handed. This stems from the problem of having contribution limits to begin with. That is also government sticking it’s nose where it ought not be.
It’s so cringeworthy. Just let the man debate. And be glad he doesn’t have all sorts of outlandish demands for showing up, like demanding there be no audience present and that all questions be published in advance, the way Biden does.
CNN:
Can you say “illegal corporate contribution”?