PHOENIX (AP) — Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed an election complaint on Wednesday alleging that CNN is colluding with Democratic President Joe Biden and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump to exclude him from a debate the network is hosting next month.
Kennedy claims that the requirements to participate in the June 27 debate were intended to ensure that only Biden and Trump would be eligible, and Kennedy claims he is being held to a higher standard.
“CNN is making prohibited corporate contributions to both campaigns and the Biden Committee and the Trump Committee have accepted these prohibited corporate contributions,” an attorney for Kennedy, Lorenzo Holloway, wrote in a letter to the Federal Election Commission.
CNN said the complaint was unfounded.
Biden and Trump agreed to the CNN debate this month and a second one on September 10 hosted by ABC, bypassing the nonpartisan commission that has organized debates for nearly four decades. The first debate will take place before Biden and Trump are formally nominated by their parties this summer.
Kennedy has seen the debates as a unique opportunity to stand with Biden and Trump, lend legitimacy to his long-shot bid and convince people inclined to support him that he has a chance to win. Both the Biden and Trump campaigns fear he could play a spoiler.
Kennedy still has time to meet the demands, although the window is shrinking.
CNN has said that candidates will be invited if they secure a place on the ballot in states with a total of at least 270 votes in the Electoral College, the minimum needed to win the presidency, and if they poll against reached 15% on June 20.
Kennedy’s campaign says he has submitted signatures or other paperwork to appear on the ballot in nine states — California, Delaware, Hawaii, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah — with a total of 171 electoral votes, though not all confirmed that his name will be included. California, the biggest prize on the electoral map with 54 votes, will not certify any candidates until August 29.
“The law in virtually every state provides that the candidate of a state-recognized political party is granted access to the ballot box without filing a petition,” a CNN spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday. “As their parties’ presumptive nominees, both Biden and Trump will meet this requirement. As an independent candidate, RFK Jr. that is not the case under applicable law. The mere request for access to ballots does not guarantee that he will appear on the ballot in any state.”
Kennedy also failed to meet election criteria, the statement said.
Biden and Trump easily crossed the voting threshold, but will not be certified for the vote until their parties formally nominate them. Both have secured enough delegates to secure their nominations.
