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*IF* This Is True, ABC News Is About to Become Engulfed in a Major Scandal

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  September 13, 2024 6:50 AM

I asked yesterday morning whether Kamala Harris’ camp got the ABC News debate questions in advance. The vice president was visibly nervous for the first portion of the debate but got into a groove, especially when she figured out that Donald Trump would take the bait she was chumming. When Trump took it hook, line, and sinker on the rally size dig, you knew he was going to be kicked off message when he had a wide berth to rip into Harris on inflation, immigration, and overall making us poorer than we were four years ago. 

Harris seemed ready for the questions, which explained her word salad responses, but she never answered any of the questions from moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis. They did fact-check Trump live, though these interruptions were peppered with fake news—no shock there. Harris was never pressed for her mountain of lies, and we know why: an ABC whistleblower is alleging that not only did the Harris camp get questions in advance, but that she was given assurances that she wouldn’t be fact-checked by the moderators either. I’m not saying this is fact, but if this is true, it’s a major scandal:

There are bits and pieces of evidence that suggest a rigged game everywhere. In 2016, Democrats did just that with Hillary Clinton. Donna Brazile, a CNN contributor at the time, sent the Clinton camp advanced copies of the debate questions. She lost her contributor gig with the network over this infraction. In the LA Times, they’re openly admitting that Muir and Davis did what they did to prevent a Biden-style meltdown.

Everyone feels this event was a shambles. The moderators were beyond biased; the questions were absurd, but even with all the advantages, Harris' numbers post-debate were flat. While not relating to the issue of advanced knowledge, we’ll have something on a former Clinton pollster who was appalled by the ABC News debate for other reasons.

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UPDATE: Again, it is VERY possible this story could fizzle, but the reaction from ABC News has been interesting. They responded with a total denial for The Daily Beast. RealClearPolitics' Susan Crabtree has more:


Funny how the Daily Beast seems to be the only media outlet that got a blanket denial from ABC News yesterday that someone at the network leaked the debate questions to Kamala Harris. Maybe there are others, but that's the only one I've seen so far. 

ABC News communications executives didn't respond to my repeated emailed inquiries yesterday afternoon and evening, but I asked a more nuanced question.

I asked: "Did anyone at your network provide hand-written notes about questions that were slated to be asked during Tuesday’s debate to anyone on Kamala Harris’s staff or through an intermediary?" 

Did the Daily Beast ask any nuanced follow-up questions, were they answered? 

How does ABC News communications executives know that no one passed along answers if the network hasn't   done an internal investigation as former Clinton strategist Mark Penn called on ABC News to do?

The Federalist also trolled the network, asking if they planned to file it as an in-kind contribution for the Harris campaign:

The story can't be dismissed outright because it has happened before. The only difference is that WikiLeaks exposed it. We don't have hacked emails but Crabtree's point is salient: how can the ABC brass know that NO ONE passed the debate questions to Harris ahead of time?