The co-chair of the nonpartisan commission that has organized presidential debates for more than 35 years says independent candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. may have grounds to sue over his exclusion from presidential debates agreed upon by former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.
Trump and Biden on Wednesday agreed to hold two campaign debates, the first on June 27 hosted by CNN and the second on Sept. 10 hosted by ABC.
One of Biden's demands was that no other candidate would take part in the debates.
The Washington Post reported that a Trump campaign official said a CNN producer had given assurances in a call Wednesday morning that "RFK will not be on the stage."
Frank Fahrenkopf, co-chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), told Politico that Kennedy may have a legal case against CNN because the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has rules concerning the criteria required for candidate selection.
Fahrenkopf told the outlet the network "promised [the Biden campaign] that they wouldn't let [RFK Jr.] in."
Asked whether RFK Jr. should sue CNN, Fahrenkopf said: "Yeah, what do you got to lose? Give it a shot."
A CNN spokesperson declined to comment about Fahrenkopf statements.
In April, CNN co-signed a letter urging 2024 presidential candidates to participate in the CPD debates.
The RFK Jr. campaign on Wednesday sent an email to CNN making the case that the independent candidate still could qualify for the June 27 debate by CNN’s June 20 deadline.
"We appreciate the comments we’re hearing from political pundits ... regarding legal grounds for insisting Mr. Kennedy be allowed to debate," RFK Jr. spokesperson Stefanie Spear told Politico. "It's our hope and expectation, however, that CNN will stand by their criteria, as well as their commitment to free discourse on behalf of American voters."
Fahrenkopf, who Wednesday received a letter from Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon informing CPD of its debate plans, blamed Biden adviser and political strategist Anita Dunn and former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain for the commission being omitted from the process.
"I know where all this is coming [from] — this is Anita Dunn," he told Playbook. "This is her plan. I know. She’s fought — she was against the commission for years and years and years."
Fahrenkopf said Dunn’s worked on a 2015 bipartisan Annenberg Public Policy Center report that called for reforming the presidential debate process.
"Anita hates us and always has," he said.
Fahrenkopf added that Klain also took part in the Annenberg study and was similarly hostile to the CPD.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.