Former top Clinton adviser calls on ABC to launch internal probe into whether debate was rigged

Veteran Democratic pollster Mark Penn said "I think a review of all their internal texts and emails really should be done [...] to find out to what extent they were planning on, in effect, you know, fact-checking just one candidate and in effect, rigging the outcome of this debate." Penn is not the only one.

https://justthenews.com/politi..._campaign=newsletter

Mark Penn, a former top adviser to Bill and Hillary Clinton, called Thursday for ABC to launch a formal internal investigation into its news division's planning and execution of this week's presidential debate to determine if there was some effort at "rigging the outcome of this debate."

ABC News came under significant bipartisan criticism because its moderators fact-checked some of Donald Trump's statements but not a single pushback at any made by Kamala Harris.

Trump said Thursday that the debate was three-on-one and declined to participate in another one before the election.

Anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis moderated the first debate between Harris and Trump, which drew 67.1 million viewers, making it the most watched presidential debate since 2008. But it has drawn scorn from both Republicans and Democrats for giving the appearance of bias.

"I actually think they should do a full internal investigation, hire an outside law firm. I don't know how much of this was planned in advance," Penn told the "John Solomon Reports" podcast.

"I don't know what they told the Harris campaign. I think the day after, suspicion here is really quite high, and I think a review of all their internal texts and emails really should be done by an independent party to find out to what extent they were planning on, in effect, you know, fact-checking just one candidate and in effect, rigging the outcome of this debate. I think the situation demands nothing less than that," he added.

Penn, chairman of the Harvard CAPS Harris Poll, also said Harris has done a "good job" defining Trump as the incumbent and herself as the change candidate even though she's the sitting vice president. But he described the mainstream media's coverage of Harris' campaign as laughable.

"It's a 50-50, race. He's [Trump] got more obvious tools to get across the finish line than she does and part of the thing here is that if the referees have their finger on the scale, it's harder to, you know, break through and overcome. And certainly, general media coverage has been fairly laughable," he said.

Penn, president and managing partner of The Stagwell Group, suggested the Trump campaign mail out to every voter the ACLU questionnaire that then-Sen. Harris, D-Calif., filled out and indicated she supports gender surgery for illegal immigrants and defunding Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Other publications have disclosed a questionable coziness between Harris and Dana Walden, co-chairman of Disney and who oversees ABC News. The New York Times quoted Harris as calling their relationship "extraordinary friends,” and disclosed that Walden and Harris are neighbors in Brentwood, a wealthy Los Angeles enclave where Ms. Harris and her husband also own a residence. The Times also pointed out that The Waldens have donated money to Ms. Harris’s political campaigns since at least 2003, when she ran for district attorney in San Francisco.

PJMedia's Victoria Taft published yet more information about Harris' connections with ABC News undisclosed by the network. ABC moderator Linsey Davis bragged in 2021 on ABC's live coverage of the Biden Inauguration about being sorority sisters with Harris.

Mark Penn is not the only veteran Democratic pollster and advisor to criticize the lopsided moderation. In an editorial, Doug Schoen, an advisor to President Clinton and N.Y.C. Mayor Mike Bloomberg, lamented that Harris "was aided and abetted by two ABC News moderators who seemingly felt the need to fact-check virtually everything the former president said."

Rumors - unverified at this point - are starting to fly that an ABC whistleblower will release evidence that the Harris campaign was given questions ahead of time or if not the actual questions, the emphasis of the moderators questions.

Talk is cheap is nothing until the person and evidence come forward.

quote:

Originally posted by fischtown7:
... and then off to Fox they go.

Do you honestly think he'd get a fair shake at Fox? Might as well just go back to ABC.

The Trump v. Biden debate was honestly staged.

I think that the Dem honchos wanted to see Biden do badly, so they could get him ejected as the Dem candidate while there was still time to get a different Dem candidate well launched.

Now if Harris wants exposure, she'll have to face the press. Ads won't cut it and not all media are friendly.

quote:

Originally posted by Flashlightboy:
Rumors - unverified at this point - are starting to fly that an ABC whistleblower will release evidence that the Harris campaign was given questions ahead of time or if not the actual questions, the emphasis of the moderators questions.

Talk is cheap is nothing until the person and evidence come forward.

I told you guys this would backfire. They just cant help themselves.

quote:

Originally posted by Flashlightboy:
Rumors - unverified at this point - are starting to fly that an ABC whistleblower will release evidence that the Harris campaign was given questions ahead of time or if not the actual questions, the emphasis of the moderators questions.

Talk is cheap is nothing until the person and evidence come forward.

What's the point of even posting shit like this, then? To be the first to tell folks that there's an unverified rumor?

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:

quote:

Originally posted by Flashlightboy:
Rumors - unverified at this point - are starting to fly that an ABC whistleblower will release evidence that the Harris campaign was given questions ahead of time or if not the actual questions, the emphasis of the moderators questions.

Talk is cheap is nothing until the person and evidence come forward.

What's the point of even posting shit like this, then? To be the first to tell folks that there's an unverified rumor?

All floods begin with a trickle.

quote:

Originally posted by Fenris:
All floods begin with a trickle.

Not all trickles result in flood.

I'm still curious about her selection of earrings

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Pure CLASS!

^^^ Yeah, that makes my day!

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Pure CLASS!

And it's real, not political gamesmanship. What would have interested Biden about this young boy? Anyone want to take a stab at that?

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
Second, don't think for a second these corrupt media are getting a free pass to brainwash people. Thirty, forty years ago, when they controlled all of the media, sure, but these days, with all the alternative media available and independent journalists running around, they can no longer get away with it. They are being eviscerated and exposed for their lies. Even CNN is calling them (ABC) out.

And even more, from the left side, Former Clinton Advisor Calls For Internal Investigation Into ABC for Rigging Presidential Debate Against Trump

By Cristina Laila | Sep. 12, 2024 6:40 pm

Former Clinton advisor Mark Penn called for an investigation into ABC News for rigging the presidential debate against Trump.

Trump and Kamala Harris faced off for their first presidential debate on Tuesday.

It was 3 against 1. The debate moderators, David Muir and Linsey Davis, fact-checked Trump at every turn yet and they ignored all of Kamala Harris’s lies.

Kamala Harris told over two dozen lies and dodged questions but the moderators did not fact-check her.

NOT ONCE.

Kamala Harris has a close friendship with ABC’s bosses.

The debate moderator, Linsey Davis, was also Kamala Harris’s sorority sister.

This was never disclosed by the network.

Former Clinton advisor and pollster Mark Penn said there should be an internal investigation into ABC for debate rigging.

“I actually think they should do a full internal investigation, hire an outside law firm. I don’t know how much of this was planned in advance,” Mark Penn told the “John Solomon Reports” podcast.

“I don’t know what they told the Harris campaign. I think the day after, suspicion here is really quite high, and I think a review of all their internal texts and emails really should be done by an independent party to find out to what extent they were planning on, in effect, you know, fact-checking just one candidate and in effect, rigging the outcome of this debate. I think the situation demands nothing less than that,” he added.

AUDIO: (at link)

Haha

https://x.com/PapiTrumpo/status/1834372286184570982

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
I'm still curious about her selection of earrings

The ones from Tiffany and Company that she also wore back in June?

Link

If she wore an earpiece would she not have worn it in/over/on her other ear that was covered by her hair?

That’s what the kids in high school do when hiding an earbud to listen to music in class.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:

quote:

Originally posted by fischtown7:
... and then off to Fox they go.

Do you honestly think he'd get a fair shake at Fox? Might as well just go back to ABC.

I honestly don't know why Trump would participate in any legacy media 'debates'. There is plenty of alternative media that has an even larger reach than the dinosaur that is legacy media and it obvious and known bias.

A debate on X Twitter with Musk and a Kamala advocate as moderators could be balanced and historic.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
https://x.com/kevin_smith45/st.../1834328081848258726

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I just don't understand why we never hear about Harris doing something like this. It's a real puzzle I tell you.
Rod