This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
ABC should be prosecuted for an illegal corporate donation to the Kamala Harris campaign for president.
That's according to columnist Beth Brelje, an award-winning investigative journalist and elections correspondent for the Federalist, who wrote the ABC debate this week was a "90-minute ambush to boost Kamala Harris."
"Working as a team, ABC hosts David Muir and Linsey Davis propped up Harris and repeatedly tried to vanquish Trump by talking over him, cutting him off, and asking bizarre questions they did not ask Harris. At one point, Davis jumped in for Harris and offered a rebuttal to one of Trump's comments on abortion, a move beyond the scope of a moderator," she explained.
"It was not a debate, but a campaign contribution. That's not a big surprise from either moderator, as Muir hosts the most Trump-negative network news evening broadcast and Davis has a long track record of promoting Democrat talking points including stolen election claims from Hillary Clinton."
She cited their focus on Jan. 6, 2021, and their decision to essentially ignore the economy, which is the top voter issue.
"Not once did the moderators acknowledge the attempted assassination of Trump. Nor did they question Harris about the lax security the Biden-Harris administration provided for Trump on the campaign trail that contributed to the shooting," she said.
That leaves the formula simple: "In broadcasting, where advertising is sold by the second, time really is money. A 30-second commercial in the February Super Bowl cost $7 million. CBS charged $225,000 for a half-minute ad during a 2016 debate between former President Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. CNN sold ad packages for the June 27 debate between Trump and President Joe Biden for a minimum of $1.5 million per package, which included two 30-second ads, plus a few online ads."
While ABC's charges weren't known right away, assuming a "lowball" figure of $225,000 for half a minute, the 90-minute campaign promotion "comes to a contribution to the Harris Walz campaign of at least $40.5 million."
Any of those options, however, find the network exceeding contribution limits. "Plus, corporations are barred from making such contributions," she noted.
Further, she suggested ABC "should face scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission, which requires television and radio broadcasters to provide equal opportunities to opposing candidates in federal elections."
