November 16, 2000
The Honorable W.J. "Billy" Tauzin Dear Chairman Tauzin: I was watching CNN today when I learned that you had produced a study of network election calls of winners, based upon the apparent work of Committee staff. To date the Democrats on the Committee have received no information either outgoing or incoming to the Committee on this matter. None of the Minority staff has ever been contacted to attend any meetings on this apparent investigation. Does our exclusion mean that you and your staff seek to turn a Committee matter into a partisan investigation with no involvement by the Minority? We in the Minority obviously also have many concerns about the networks’ behavior. CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox have much to answer for. In particular, the actions of Fox News, which was the first to call the state of Florida for George Bush, are worthy of attention. Numerous news reports have already reported on the role of Governor Bush’s cousin, John Ellis, in making that call for Fox, as well as his contacts with the Bush campaign. We are also interested in how all of the networks called the state of Florida for Governor Bush early Wednesday morning, when it obviously has remained too close to call. We want to work with you to have a complete and balanced hearing. It would be unfortunate if the public were to believe that this had become a partisan matter. In the future, the Committee investigation into this matter should include the full participation of the Minority. Our staff should be included in all staff interviews, and receive copies of all outgoing and incoming correspondence. Please forward to us copies of all documents gathered by the Committee to date on this matter, and any reports written by the Republican committee staff. If the work of this Committee on this important inquiry is to have credibility, bipartisan cooperation is necessary. I look forward to working with you on this matter. Sincerely,
cc: The Honorable Edward Markey, Ranking Member | |
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