The Robert F. Kennedy Jr. campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission claiming that CNN, President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump and their election committees colluded to exclude Kennedy from a planned June 27 televised debate.
The complaint, filed Tuesday and addressed to FEC Acting General Counsel Lisa Stevenson, accuses the parties of designing criteria "to result in the selection of certain pre-chosen participants, namely Biden and Trump, in a clear breach of federal campaign finance law."
The complaint introduces an element of doubt as to whether the debate—scheduled to take place at CNN's studio in Atlanta—can legally take place if Kennedy is excluded, given it could be interpreted as campaign contributions to Biden and Trump, according to Kennedy's attorneys.
The letter notes that The Washington Post reported that "Biden advisers quickly let it be known that they had not agreed to any terms that could include Kennedy" and also that CNN producers promised Trump aides that "RFK will not be on the stage."
The complaint also says that Biden's Committee wrote a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates saying "the debates should be one-on-one," even though both Biden and Trump have been "working around the Commission" in favor of allowing CNN to host.
Also, the complaint notes, "CNN, itself, reported that the Trump Committee would not agree to a debate including Candidate Kennedy," and it reported that "calling for earlier debates might also help weed out third-party candidates that could cause problems for both Trump and Biden."
If CNN goes through with the debate without Kennedy, then it is "making prohibited corporate contributions to both campaigns and the Biden Committee and the Trump Committee have accepted these prohibited corporate contributions," according to the complaint.
While there are certain exceptions allowing for the media to carry news or commentary that benefit one candidate over others, CNN does not qualify if it is staging a debate, the lawyers contend. "Therefore, any cost CNN has incurred and will incur to stage the debate is a contribution," they write.
The complaint asks that the FEC "enjoin the Parties from holding the presidential debate" unless CNN, Trump and Biden comply with the Federal Election Campaign Act, and that it impose a monetary penalty against those who, in the view of Kennedy's attorneys, have yet to do so.
Debates hosted by the Commission on Presidential Debates typically are staged in September and October, hence CNN's debate scheduled this month is legally problematic, according to Kennedy's team.
The complaint claims that CNN's rules are "a poorly constructed pretext because Biden and Trump do not and will not qualify under these terms."
The most prominent issue addressed is that, among CNN's criteria to qualify for inclusion in its debate is that a candidate's name appears on enough ballots to garner 270 electoral votes.
"To appear on the state ballots, President Biden and Mr. Trump must first be nominated by their respective parties," claim the attorneys. "President Biden is seeking the Democratic Party nomination, but his party has not nominated him. Mr. Trump is seeking the Republican Party nomination, but his party has not nominated him."
Official nominations occur during party conventions, the Republicans in July and the Democrats in August. The attorneys who filed the complaint argue that before those conventions, neither Trump's nor Biden's names would officially appear on any ballot. The Democratic National Committee announced Tuesday plans to hold a virtual roll call ahead of Ohio's August 7 ballot deadline, but it's unclear if it would happen prior to the debate.
While Biden and Trump did not respond to Newsweek's request for comment, CNN told Newsweek that Kennedy doesn't yet qualify because "the mere application for ballot access does not guarantee that he will appear on the ballot in any state."
The network also said that Biden and Trump qualify under its rules because nearly every state "provides that the nominee of a state-recognized political party will be allowed ballot access without petitioning."
The criteria also involve polling at above 15 percent in four polls that meet CNN's standards by June 20. On May 11, CNN reported that Kennedy polled at 16 percent in a CNN/SSRS poll.
CNN's approved polls include those sponsored by CNN, ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, Marquette University Law School, Monmouth University, NBC News, The New York Times/Siena College, NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist College, Quinnipiac University, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.
In the meantime, Kennedy has challenged Biden and Trump to debate him on X, formerly known as Twitter. Kennedy first floated the idea two weeks ago. Though neither of the presumptive nominees have accepted the challenge yet, Elon Musk has indicated a willingness to host a debate on his platform.
"X is where the debate should be. The new public square with 100x the audience of CNN," the candidate posted on May 22. "@realDonaldTrump, I know you've got the guts to do it. Do you want to call @POTUS or should I?"
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Paul Bond has been a journalist for three decades. Prior to joining Newsweek he was with The Hollywood Reporter. He ... Read more
