Vice President Kamala Harris has a key ally running the company overseeing ABC News, which is scheduled to host a presidential debate next month.
Ms. Harris is longtime friends with Dana Walden, a top executive at Disney, the company that owns ABC News.
The two women have known each other for 30 years, and the Democratic presidential hopeful has joked that the Waldens are responsible for her meeting her husband, Doug Emhoff, and their marriage.
The Waldens have also donated money to Ms. Harris’ political campaign since at least 2003, which was first reported by The New York Times.
The network says there is no conflict of interest because Ms. Walden is not involved in editorial decisions in the news division.
“ABC News has built its longstanding reputation on journalistic integrity,” the network said in a statement. “All editorial decisions are in the hands of ABC News management and the seasoned journalists and producers of ABC, who hold themselves to the highest journalistic standards.”
The ABC News debate is set for Sept. 10 and will be moderated by ABC anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis.
However, Mr. Trump said that he doesn’t want to participate in the debate because he says he has a conflict of interest with the network.
Mr. Trump is suing George Stephanopoulos claiming the ABC News host made defamatory comments about him during a live interview with Rep. Nancy Mace, South Carolina Republican. Mr. Stephanopoulos said that a jury found Mr. Trump had “raped” magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll.
The jury did not find Mr. Trump liable for rape but found him liable for sexual assault on Ms. Carroll sometime in 1995 or 1996.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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