Presidential debates

[_CY_]

[Broken External Image]

VIDEO : Debate Bombshell! Lester Holt Caught Using an Illegal Earpiece
September 28, 2016

The Federal Election Commission specifically said NO EARPIECE for the debate moderator.
Period.

There was not “exception” to that rule.
No earpiece.

Period.
Guess who wore an earpiece?

Yep.
Lester Holt .. video below appears to shows him testing ear piece, taking jacket off for tech to replace/fix transmitter.

 

[Fredkrueger100]

It don't matter. He could blatantly be caught and nothing will be done. It's the same with all the stuff Bill and Hilarry has done. Nothing ever happened to them. It's disgusting how when liberal democrats do this kind of stuff nobody says a word. But if it were a republican they would be hanging from a tree. And for far less. Another thing, if I were trump I would refuse to do another debate with a liberal moderator. It's ridiculous. It will be more of the same from the next two moderators.

 

[_CY_]

TIL that the FCC had a rule called the Fairness Doctrine that required News broadcasters to present issues on politics in manner that was honest, equitable, and balanced. It was eliminated in 1987. (en.wikipedia.org)

 

[Glocktogo]

HA! Allegedly "unbiased" cancelled 2nd debate moderator Steve Scully has been suspended from C-Span for LYING about his Twitter account being hacked.

https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/span-suspends-scully-admits-lie-hack-73637849

C-SPAN suspended its political editor Steve Scully indefinitely Thursday after he admitted to lying about his Twitter feed being hacked when he was confronted about a questionable exchange with former Trump aide Anthony Scaramucci.

The news came on the day of what was supposed to be a career highlight for the 30-year C-SPAN veteran. Scully was to moderate the second debate between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, which was canceled after Trump would not agree to a virtual format because of his COVID-19 diagnosis.

A week ago, after Trump had criticized him as a “never Trumper," Scully tweeted “@Scaramucci should I respond to Trump.” Scaramucci, a former Trump communications director and now a critic of the president, advised Scully to ignore him.

Scully said that when he saw his tweet had created a controversy, “I falsely claimed that my Twitter account had been hacked.”

He had been frustrated by Trump's comments and several weeks of criticism on social media and conservative news outlets about his role as moderator, including attacks directed at his family, he said.

“These were both errors in judgement for which I am totally responsible for,” Scully said. “I apologize.”

He said he let down his colleagues at C-SPAN, fellow news professionals and the debate commission. “I ask for their forgiveness as I try to move forward in a moment of reflection and disappointment in myself,” he said.

C-SPAN said Scully confessed to lying about the hack on Wednesday.

“He understands that he made a serious mistake,” the network said. “We were very saddened by this news and do not condone his actions.”

The debate commission did not immediately return a message seeking comment.


Scully has led the network's presidential election coverage since 1992, but the suspension means he won't be part of C-SPAN's election night programming. Scully has been the moderator of “Washington Journal,” the weekly call-in program, and regularly hosted other C-SPAN programs.

The network said Scully has consistently demonstrated fairness and professionalism, and built a reservoir of good will.

“After some distance from this episode, we believe in his ability to continue to contribute to C-SPAN,” the network said.

Now why would anyone ever believe Scully again C-Span? Don't forget that C-Span (and the debate commission) claimed the hack happened and Scully didn't write the tweet. Yeah... Right...

C-SPAN said Friday the Twitter account for Political Editor Steve Scully, who is slated to host the second presidential debate, was hacked after a tweet was posted from Scully's official account in which he appeared to ask for advice from Trump critic Anthony Scaramucci about how to respond to criticism the president had leveled at him.

"Steve Scully did not originate the tweet and believes his account has been hacked," C-SPAN said in a statement. The Commission on Presidential Debates has stated publicly that the tweet was not sent by Scully himself and is investigating with the help of authorities. When additional information is available, we will release it."

In a radio interview with Fox News host Brian Kilmeade on Friday, Frank Fahrenkopf, co-chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates, said "he was hacked" and that Scully did not post the tweet to Scaramucci.

"It didn't happen," Fahrenkopf told Kilmeade.

While criticizing the job Fox News anchor Chris Wallace did as a moderator during the first debate, Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday night he thought Scully – who interned for then-Sen. Joe Biden as an undergraduate at American University – was a "never-Trumper" who "worked for Biden at one point."

A post quickly appeared on Scully's Twitter account in which he tagged Anthony Scaramucci, who has become a fierce critic of the president since his brief stint as Trump's communications director.

"@Scaramucci should I respond to trump," it read, according to screenshots of the since-deleted post.

"Ignore. He is having a hard enough time. Some more bad stuff about to go down," Scaramucci tweeted in reply.

The exchange prompted cries of outrage from Trump's supporters who said the tweet was evidence of anti-Trump bias on the part of Scully.

"Steve Scully, the second Debate Moderator, is a Never Trumper, just like the son of the great Mike Wallace. Fix!!!" Trump tweeted, just before C-SPAN said Scully had been hacked.

Moderator Steve Scully deleted this tweet. Neither he nor the Presidential Debate Commission have addressed why he was asking a Trump loather for counsel on responding to Trump. Horrific problem here for the "independent" debate commission, in their worst year ever. https://t.co/rqChwmySQl

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) October 9, 2020
The kerfuffle over Scully's tweet could prove to be a moot point as the fate of the second debate remains in question because Trump contracted COVID-19. The Commission on Presidential Debates had pushed for a virtual debate, but Trump rejected the idea.

"I’m not Joe Biden. I’m not going to do a virtual debate," the president told Hannity on Thursday.

Fahrenkopf said the commission knew about Scully's internship with Biden, which took place more than 40 years ago but dismissed it as being in the distant past.

"Steve is a man of great integrity," Fahrenkopf said.

I accept @SteveScully at his word. Let’s not cancel anymore people from our culture for absolutely something like this. It’s insignificant. He is an objective journalist.

— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) October 9, 2020
Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said the allegation that Scully would not moderate the debate objectively was "beyond ridiculous."

"Steve Scully is eminently fair. Anybody who watches CSPAN knows that," Sabato tweeted in response to the president's criticism. "Trump obviously doesn't spend time there – not enough bile for his tastes."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: C-SPAN says Steve Scully's Twitter account hacked as 2nd presidential debate moderator tweet called biased

Let's not forget that the moderator for the 3rd debate, Kristen Welker, deactivated her Twitter account as soon as Scully's account was "hacked". https://www.foxnews.com/media/nbc-kristen-welker-twitter-steve-scully-controversy

Gee, I wonder if anyone has an archive of Welker's account, and what we'd find if they did? The Commission on Presidential Debates and C-Span protest too much, methinks!