Alexandra Shapiro Appears on MSNBC’s Morning Joe to Discuss Presidential Debates Lawsuit
On January 4, 2017, Alexandra Shapiro and Dr. Peter Ackerman, Chairman of Level the Playing Field, appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe to discuss the lawsuit filed by Plaintiffs Level the Playing Field, Dr. Ackerman, the Green Party of the United States, and the Libertarian National Committee, Inc. against the Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) regarding the staging of the presidential debates. The lawsuit challenges the FEC’s dismissal of two administrative complaints alleging that the Commission on Presidential Debates, the organization responsible for sponsoring the general election presidential and vice-presidential debates, violates federal election law requiring debate-sponsoring organizations to be non-partisan and to use “objective criteria” to determine who may participate in the debates. The lawsuit also challenges the FEC’s denial of a related petition for rulemaking, which asks the FEC to revise its debate-staging regulation to limit the use of public opinion polls as an exclusive means of accessing the debates.
Oral argument on the parties’ motions for summary judgment is scheduled to be held on January 5, 2017.
Alexandra’s Morning Joe appearance can be viewed here. More information about the lawsuit can be found here and here.