This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Claims of a purposeful scheme to skew the Sept. 10 ABC News presidential debate in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump are now intensified with the Sunday release of a sworn statement by a network whistleblower specifying the allegations.
The affidavit under penalty of perjury released by @DocNetyoutube indicates ABC coordinated with the Harris campaign to give her sample questions, along with assurances Trump would be fact-checked while Kamala would not, and favorable accommodations for the Democrat's appearance on screen.
The document, dated Sept. 9, one day prior to the debate and redacted in portions to conceal the whistleblower's identity, is from a Manhattan, New York, resident who has worked at ABC News for more than 10 years in "various technical and administrative positions."
"For the record, I do not endorse Donald Trump in his capacity as a candidate for the president of the United States," the whistleblower says.
"The intent of this affidavit is to address concerns about perceived biases within news reporting within my employer's debate that will be hosted on September 10, 2024."
The ABC employee says Harris received "particular accommodations including, but not limited to, the providing of a podium significantly smaller than that used by Donald Trump, and assurances regarding split-screen television views that would favorably impact Kamala Harris's appearance relative to Donald Trump."
The sworn statement continues: "It was agree that Donald Trump would be subjected to fact-checking during the debate, while Kamala Harris would not comparable scrutiny. This was widely known throughout the company that Donald Trump would be fact-checked. In fact, various people were assigned to fact check observations it was perceived candidate Trump would make during the debate.
"In fact, [the] Harris campaign required assurances that Donald Trump would be fact checked. This was done via multiple communications with the Harris campaign whereas the Trump campaign was not included in the negotiations. To my understanding, any rules negotiations and conversations pertaining to the debate should have had both the Trump and Harris campaign involved, the Harris campaign had numerous more calls regarding the debate rules without the Trump campaign aware or on the call."
The statement also indicates: "The Harris campaign was provided with sample questions that, while not the exact questions, covered similar topics that would appear during the debate."
"Furthermore, the Harris campaign imposed serious restrictions on the scope of questioning, including:
The whistleblower claims to have "observed a pronounced bias against Donald Trump within ABC News. Employees expressing favorable views towards him experience significant concerns about potential retribution."
The employee says the purpose of the affidavit is "to document and provide transparency regarding the issue of fairness and impartiality in the debate process and broader concerns about journalistic integrity at ABC News."
The conclusion of the sworn statement mentions copies of the sworn statement being sent via regular mail and FedEx to the whistleblower's home address, and a certified letter to U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson dated Sept. 9, 2024, "to establish a record that the correspondence was sent before the debate commenced."
"Additionally, for further investigation, I have secretly recorded several conversations that will prove that the Harris Campaign insisted upon not only the Fact Checking of Donald Trump, but also insisted on what questions were not to be asked under any circumstances or else the Harris campaign would decline to participate in the debate."
