Biden campaign asks TV networks to stop booking Rudy Giuliani — at least without a Biden surrogate, too

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published 30 September 2019

Two top advisers to former Vice President Joe Biden's presidential campaign contacted executives and top political anchors at ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and Fox News on Sunday to alternately "ask" and "demand that in service to the facts, you no longer book Rudy Giuliani," who is "not a public official" and has "publicly said he is concerned his tombstone will say he 'lied for Donald Trump,'" his client, The New York Times reports. "But if you do," wrote Biden advisers Anita Dunn and Kate Bedingfield, "you need to give an equivalent amount of time to a surrogate for the Biden campaign."

Giuliani was on two of the Sunday talk shows. Producers at both of the shows also requested interviews with Biden, but "the Biden campaign declined the invitation and instead offered its national co-chairman, Representative Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, an option that the producers rejected," the Times says. "Weekend political talk shows typically reserve airtime for newsmakers themselves — a candidate or politician in person, for instance — rather than for lower-ranking supporters."

Giuliani, who is in fact spreading debunked, dubious, or misleading allegations about Biden and his son Hunter, is newsworthy because he's at the center of an impeachment inquiry the House is launching into Trump's interactions with Ukraine. "While you often fact check his statements in real time during your discussions, that is no longer enough," Dunn and Kate Bedingfield wrote. You can read the entire letter at The New York Times.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.