The bipartisan Federal Election Commission unanimously dismissed a complaint that put Donald Trump and CNN in the unusual position of being on the same side — standing accused of an election law violation involving the much-derided Trump “town hall” CNN televised in May 2023.
Paul L. Gumina, a lawyer from Alhambra, Calif., contended that the event was a pro-Trump rally, not legitimate news gathering, and thus amounted to a prohibited corporate campaign contribution from CNN to Trump’s presidential campaign.
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The FEC Commission agreed with its general counsel that the event qualified for the “press exemption” in campaign finance regulations.
“The alleged lack of objectivity in staging the town hall does not disqualify CNN from the exemption,” the opinion said.
The Trump campaign’s response to the complaint noted that CNN had previously staged single-candidate town halls and the event was a “legitimate press function.”
CNN did not respond to the complaint.
A wild night
For the forum last year, CNN agreed to an audience of Trump supporters and undecided voters. CNN also told the audience that they could cheer but could not boo. The telecast was interpreted by some as an effort to move viewers’ perception of the network to the right amid audience declines.
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The town hall audience became unruly while reacting positively for Trump, the former president and current putative Republican presidential nominee. Trump received a standing ovation when he walked onstage, and there were frequent laughs and applause, including when he criticized E. Jean Carroll, who had just won a $5 million civil judgment against Trump from a jury that found he had sexually assaulted her in 1996.
The scene put CNN host Kaitlan Collins — whom Trump called “nasty” during the telecast — in an almost impossible position of trying to fact-check and press Trump on repeated lies and falsehoods. CNN’s own journalists publicly criticized the event.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said CNN “lost control” and was “manipulated into platforming election disinformation.”
Frank Sesno, a former CNN Washington bureau chief, said of the Trump telecast: “You can’t ignore him, but you can’t give him carte blanche either.”
On June 27, CNN is set to host the first of two planned 2024 presidential debates between Trump and President Joe Biden.