Independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr, lashed out on Thursday at CNN after he failed to meet the network’s criteria to appear onstage at the June 27th presidential debate.
“Presidents Biden and Trump do not want me on the debate stage and CNN illegally agreed to their demand,” Kennedy claimed in a statement. “My exclusion by Presidents Biden and Trump from the debate is undemocratic, un-American, and cowardly.”
To qualify for the debate a candidate must receive at least 15% in four separate national polls of registered or likely voters. RFK Jr has so far met that threshold in two polls. The network also said that participants must “appear on a sufficient number of state ballots to reach the 270 electoral vote threshold to win the presidency prior to the eligibility deadline.”
RFK Jr.’s campaign claims to have made the ballot in 23 states worth 310 electoral votes, but CNN said that it had only confirmed he’d made the ballot in just six states worth just 89 electoral votes.
Last month, RFK Jr’s campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) arguing CNN “colluded” with Biden and Trump to keep him off the stage.
On Thursday he reiterated his comments and threatened CNN staffers involved in the debate with jail time.
“CNN and every member of CNN who is participating in planning, executing, and holding this debate, is at risk of prosecution, as happened to Michael Cohen, for violating campaign finance laws,” RFK Jr.’s campaign said. “This risk is now acute given that any further violation would be knowing and willful, and thus could carry with it serious jail time.”
“If the debate goes forward without Mr. Kennedy, the Kennedy campaign intends to pursue this issue for as long as it takes to obtain justice against these illegal acts, if for no other reason than to ensure this type of undemocratic and un-American conduct does not occur again in the future,” the campaign added in the statement.
