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For Immediate
Release April 16, 2002.
Contact: Ralph Nader (202) 387-8030
Washington, D.C. - On the eve of trial in federal district court
in Boston, Janet Brown, the executive director of the Commission on
Presidential Debates (CPD), and Paul Kirk and Frank Fahrenkopf, the
CPD's Democratic and Republican co-chairs, have sent a letter of apology
to Ralph Nader and made a monetary payment to his attorneys in order to
settle the case Nader filed against them for the events on October 3,
2000, the night of the first presidential debate. The Commission's
security consultant during the first debate has also sent a letter of
apology and is also paying a portion of Nader's attorneys' fees.
On the night of the first debate, Nader had a valid ticket to an
auxiliary viewing room and an interview with Fox News, but he was met at
the university campus by the CPD's security consultant and state police
and forced to leave the event under threat of arrest. The CPD had
instructed the consultant that Mr. Nader could not attend the debate,
but Nader was attempting to attend a separate viewing event that was
sponsored by the University of Massachusetts, not the CPD presidential
debate. Others allowed on campus without any ticket were invited to
attend the university event. Nader promptly sued the CPD on October 17,
2000.
Reacting to the letters of apology, Nader said, "This expression of
contrition was what I asked for in a letter to the Commission soon after
the expulsion on October 3, 2000, and this is what the Commission
finally agreed to, however delayed. After our victory, they will think
thrice before doing this again to any ticketed third-party candidates in
the future." Nader has repeatedly accused the CPD of being a
deplorable, exclusionary tool of the two-party duopoly, performing an
antidemocratic screening function in our system, and forcing excluded
candidates to the sidelines in media attention and public
appraisal."
The Commission on Presidential Debates was formed in 1987 to replace the
non-partisan League of Women Voters, which included independent
candidate John Anderson in the first 1980 presidential debate and
prohibited the major party candidates from selecting the debate
panelists in 1984. Frank Fahrenkopf, then chairman of the Republican
National Committee and now the leading lobbyist for the gambling
industry, and Paul Kirk, then chairman of the Democratic National
Committee and now a lobbyist for the pharmaceutical industry, created
The Commission on Presidential Debates.
Financed by Anheuser-Busch, Philip Morris and other multinational
corporations, the Commission on Presidential Debates has excluded
popular third-party candidates, most of whom are critical of the Big
Business agenda. Although he received $29 million in public funds,
captured 19 percent of the popular vote in the previous 1992 election,
and 76 percent of eligible voters wanted him included, Ross Perot was
excluded by the two parties from the 1996 presidential debates. Both Pat
Buchanan, who collected over $12 million in federal matching funds, and
Ralph Nader, who attracted the largest paid audiences during his
campaign appearances, were excluded from the 2000 presidential debates,
although in a national poll, 64 percent of eligible voters wanted them
included.
Nader's legal team survived three motions to dismiss, two summary
judgment motions by the Commission defendants and was prepared to go to
trial today in Boston. During preparation for trial, it became clear
that the lawyer for the allegedly "non-partisan" CPD had
created a "face sheet" that was distributed to security
personnel to bar several well-known third-party presidential and
vice-presidential candidates from attending the debate. Howard Friedman,
Nader's lead counsel, said "the Massachusetts civil rights law does
not allow a corporation through police power to use threats,
intimidation, or force to violate the First Amendment rights of people
because they disagree with the Commission."
###
Attachments:
1. Text of Letter of apology
from the Commission on Presidential Debates To Ralph Nader
2. October 5, 200 Letter From Ralph Nader to CPD Co-Chairs Over Debate
Admission Rejection
Text of Letter of apology from the Commission on Presidential
Debates To Ralph Nader
Dear Mr. Nader:
In October 2000, you filed a lawsuit against the Commission on
Presidential Debates and its co-chairs, Paul Kirk and Frank Fahrenkopf,
in which you asserted claims concerning your ticketed right to enter an
auxiliary viewing auditorium on the UMass campus on October 3, 2000, the
night of the presidential debate.
The Commission and its co-chairs did not know about your interest in
attending the auxiliary viewing auditorium. If we had had a clear
understanding of your intentions, every effort would have been made to
protect your right to attend that event. We apologize for the
misunderstanding of John Vezeris, the security consultant for the
Commission, on the night of October 3 that resulted in your being
required to leave the campus so that you could not attend the auxiliary
viewing event and for any inconvenience to you.
For the Commission and its co-chairs, Paul Kirk and Frank Fahrenkopf,
Sincerely,
Janet Brown
Executive Director
October 5, 200 Letter From Ralph Nader to CPD Co-Chairs Over Debate
Admission Rejection
October 5, 2000
Mr. Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr.
Mr. Paul G. Kirk, Jr.
Co-Chairmen Commission on Presidential Debates
Dear Mssrs. Fahrenkopf and Kirk:
On Tuesday night October 3, 2000, I attempted to view the first
presidential debate hosted by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD)
at the University of Massachusetts. Though I have been excluded from
participating in the debates by the arbitrary and unfair standards set
by your private, bi-partisan company, I was given a transferable ticket
by a university student to observe the debates in a separate auditorium
reserved apart from the corporate-sponsored audience in attendance for
the two-party show. I planned to view the debates so that I could appear
as a guest to comment on the debates later that evening on a live
broadcast by Fox News Channel from a trailer occupied by them, at the
debate site, with the full permission of the CPD.
En route to the event, ticket in hand, and members of the press present
and recording everything at my side, I was met by a security consultant,
Mr. John Vezeris, who was flanked by three uniformed state troopers. The
security consultant, while declining to present any credentials, told me
that he was ""instructed by the Commission"" to
advise me that ""it''s already been decided that, whether or
not you have a ticket, you are not invited."" One of the
police officers told me that I would face arrest if I continued to
remain on the premises. The security consultant repeatedly refused to
divulge who from the CPD ordered this action and subsequent attempts by
my campaign to establish who ordered this coercive expulsion with the
aid of police officers have not resulted in any names. I was stopped a
second time by the same police when I attempted to visit the news
trailer for a broadcast I was formally invited to do by Fox News Chief
Executive Roger Ailes and which had been arranged from the premises.
According to today''s media reports, Mr. Kirk claims I was excluded as a
""point man for the protests,"" when I took no part
in those protests and when demonstrations by pro-Gore supporters did not
result in similar exclusionary treatment for Vice-President Gore.
As the Green Party candidate for the office of President, I am not used
to being barred by police officers from attending public events for
which I hold a ticket. Nor am I accustomed to being physically prevented
from attending approved on-site newscasts and reaching national
audiences from venues where I am invited to appear. Indeed, the
Commission''s decision to deploy public officers at a public university
to bar me from viewing the presidential debates and participating at a
subsequent onsite newscast because of my political viewpoints and
affiliation with the Green Party violates both Massachusetts State and
federal civil rights laws.
Accordingly, in the spirit of a proposed settlement offer for this
outrageous and unlawful behavior, I am seeking the following by 10 a.m.
Tuesday morning October 10th:
1) An official, written apology from both of you, on behalf of Governor
George W. Bush and Vice President Albert Gore, Jr.
2) A contribution of $25,000 to the nonprofit The Appleseed Center for
Electoral Reform at Harvard Law School.
3) An assurance that I will not be barred from attending any other CPD
presidential debate venues for which I have an invitation from the press
or a ticket. Should you not respond by Tuesday morning to these three
requests, the Nader 2000 Campaign will pursue its legal remedies on
Tuesday, October 10th.
Sincerely yours,
Ralph Nader
Cc: Ms. Janet H. Brown, Executive Director; Vice-President Albert Gore,
Jr. Governor George W. Bush
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