ABC News denied a whistleblower's claim that it provided the Kamala Harris campaign the questions moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis would ask ahead of the Aug. 12 debate.
The document, said to be a sworn affidavit from an employee who has worked at ABC for 10 years which was signed by a notary public on Sept. 9, alleges ABC News gave Harris questions ahead of the debate and agreed to other preconditions that would give her an advantage over former President Donald Trump.
The whistleblower said the document was sent by certified mail to House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sept. 9, the day before the debate.
The network has not confirmed whether the document was written by an ABC staffer, or where it was filed before it emerged on X. ABC did not respond to other specific charges in the document, including on the pages seen here:
Meanwhile, ABC World News Tonight, anchored by Muir, saw a major drop in viewership after the debate.
The show averaged 6.7 million viewers on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, which were the three broadcasts immediately following the debate. Before the debate, Muir's show was averaging 7.6 million viewers.
In an initial statement, ABC did not address the specific claims, saying: "ABC News followed the debate rules that both campaigns agreed on and which clearly state: No topics or questions will be shared in advance with campaigns or candidates."
A spokesperson for the network was subsequently forced to issue a more full-throated denial to the Daily Beast: "Absolutely not. Harris was not given any questions before the date."
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman re-shared viral screenshots of the affidavit, tagging Disney CEO Bob Iger and calling for answers. Ackman expressed concerns, saying, "I find the allegations credible as written, particularly because the affidavit was reportedly made the day before the debate and mentions details, like Harris' smaller podium, that only became public later."
Though Ackman refrained from confirming the authenticity of the claims, he noted that they "substantively match" what unfolded during the debate, while also highlighting the moderators' silence as raising "a negative inference."
Dear Bob, I assume that you have been made aware of this affidavit which was made public earlier today in which a whistleblower states that @ABC worked closely with the @KamalaHarris campaign in sharing the substance of the questions, avoiding certain topics,… https://t.co/Y95zdQ5Vk3 — Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) September 16, 2024
The document, which includes several redactions obscuring the supposed staffer's identity, states that Harris would not be subject to the same fact-checking as Trump, nor would she be asked questions about the health of Joe Biden.
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Also disallowed were inquiries about Harris's stint as California Attorney General, and those involving her brother-in-law, Tony West, who is from San Francisco and served as Associate Attorney General of the U.S. around that time.
West wed Harris's sister, Maya, a decade before, and today is "a major force behind Ms. Harris's campaign and its record-setting fund-raising," serving as a "critical point of contact for business leaders and major donors," according to The New York Times.
The whistleblower claims West "faces allegations of embezzling millions of dollars in taxpayer funds" and "may be involved" in Harris's administrations if she is elected.
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