Former Clinton Strategist Calls For Investigation Into ABC

Former Clinton strategist and pollster Mark Penn suggested that an investigation should be conducted to determine if ABC News coordinated with Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign after watching the debate between Harris and former President Donald Trump.

Penn’s comments follow criticism of the debate moderators for perceived bias, including pressing Trump with follow-up questions, allowing Harris to avoid answering questions, and fact-checking Trump while not fact-checking Harris.

“I actually think they should do a full internal investigation, hire an outside law firm. I don’t know how much of this was planned in advance. I don’t know what they told the Harris campaign,” Penn said. “I think the day after, suspicion here is really quite high, and I think a review of all their internal texts and emails really should be done by an independent party to find out to what extent they were planning on, in effect, you know, fact-checking just one candidate and, in effect, rigging the outcome of this debate. I think the situation demands nothing less than that.”

LISTEN: Former top Clinton adviser Mark Penn calls on ABC to launch an investigation into whether debate was rigged.

Penn: ABC "should do a full internal investigation, hire an outside law firm. I don't know how much of this was planned in advance. … I don't know what they… pic.twitter.com/TNupZ187mQ

— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) September 13, 2024

Following the debate, the Trump campaign released internal polling results indicating that Trump saw a slight boost in support, while Harris’ support remained unchanged.

Including Green Party candidate Jill Stein, independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Libertarian Chase Oliver, and independent Cornel West, Trump gained two points after the debate, leading Harris 48-46.

In a head-to-head ballot scenario featuring only Trump and Harris, Trump gained three points while Harris lost one, shifting the race from a 48-48 tie before the debate to 50-47 in favor of Trump afterward.