The chairman of the Iowa GOP said Monday the state party won’t co-sponsor presidential debates with NBC or CNN unless the networks cancel planned broadcasts of programming about Hillary Clinton, who is seen as Democrats’ most popular choice for the party’s presidential nomination.
The Republican Party of Iowa’s A.J. Spiker issued a statement that agrees with one the Republican National Committee released earlier in the day that says the RNC is astounded by the television networks’ “thinly veiled attempt at putting a thumb on the scales of the 2016 presidential election.”
CNN plans to make a feature-length documentary about Clinton, and NBC is doing a miniseries starring Diane Lane that will portray Clinton’s life from her husband’s affair with Monica Lewinsky through her time as secretary of state.
“They are clearly making an effort to influence the presidential race in 2016 without adhering to their supposed pledge to uphold journalistic integrity,” Spiker said in his statement.
Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
