RFK Jr. Files FEC Complaint Demanding CNN Include Him in Debate

Newsweek reports:  

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."

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