Back in May, President Joe Biden challenged the former president Donald Trump to two debates. CNN would host the first on June 27 and the second by ABC News on September 10. Although Trump had filed a defamation lawsuit against ABC News and host George Stephanopoulos in March, he was more than happy to meet Biden anyway. and agreed to all these terms, however unfavorable they were.

Absolutely, the Bidens implosion at his first showdown with Trump marked the beginning of the end of his hopes for a second term. When Biden left the race on July 21, Trump naturally assumed that ended his commitment to the September debate.

After Vice President Kamala Harris replaced Biden as the Democratic nominee, Trump suggested they participate in a Fox News debate on September 4. Harris refused, insisting that he would honor the commitment he had made to Biden for the ABC debate.

Last week, Trump proposed a series of three debates. Despite the apparent conflict posed by his litigation against the network, he agreed to participate in the ABC debate if Harris would engage in debates on Fox and NBC on September 25.

Last Thursday, ABC News is confirmed that both Harris and Trump have agreed to attend its debate. So far, Harris refuses to share with the other two.

As we know, since replacing Biden at the top of the ticket, Harris has not held a single press conference. Nor has she sat for an interview. Her campaign events are heavily scripted. She sticks to her teleprompter and diligently avoids situations where she has to speak extemporaneously, because when she does, toads come out. She is notoriously inarticulate.

So why is Harris so willing to debate Trump on ABC — and only ABC?

Well, that one New York Times have some ideas. It turns out that Harris’ “longtime friend,” Dana Walden, is a top-ranking executive at The Walt Disney Company“whose portfolio includes ABC News.”

The Times make it clear that Harris and Walden, who they note “are both revered and feared in Hollywood,” are not just acquaintances. Describing the bond between the two, the authors wrote: “But rare is the genuine, lasting friendship like that between Ms. Harris and Ms. Walden. Their closeness is no secret in Los Angeles and Washington circles, though it has become more remarkable in light of Ms. .Harris’ ascension to the top of the ticket — and ABC’s confirmation Thursday that the network would host a prime-time debate that could make or break the vice president’s political future.”

According to TimesHarris and Walden have been friends since 1994, and “their husbands, Matt Walden and Doug Emhoff, have known each other since the 1980s.” Harris has referred to the Waldens as “extraordinary friends,” the report said.

The Times reported that the Waldens have donated to Harris’ political campaigns “since at least 2003” and even hosted fundraisers for her at their Brentwood, CaliforniaHome.

At an event in April 2022, Harris joked, “In a lot of ways, Dana and Matt are responsible for my marriage.” Harris told donors that she and her husband were set up on a blind date by a couple set up by the Waldens.

Asked to comment on what indeed appears to be a conflict of interest, ABC issued a statement that read: “ABC News has built its long-standing reputation on journalistic integrity. All editorial decisions are in the hands of ABC News management and the experienced journalists and producers of ABC , which adheres to the highest journalistic standards.”

Predictably, ABC denied that Walden’s friendship with Harris constituted a conflict of interest. The statement emphasized the many layers of separation between Walden and ABC’s news department, noting that she has no power over editorial decisions.

Having raised the issue of a conflict of interest in the first place, Times then went on the defensive, citing several other high-profile media executives who have donated to political candidates in the past. For example, they refer to CBS CEO and President George Cheeks, who donated $400 to Biden campaign 2020. That same year, CBS News and Stations CEO Wendy McMahon donated $3,550 to Biden.

From there, they go back to a $2,300 contribution to the McCain campaign in 2008 from Cesar Conde, who was Univision’s chief strategy officer at the time. (Conde is currently chairman of NBCUniversal News Group.)

The times’ the only reference to the size of Walden’s political contributions is a $20,000 donation made in 2023 “to support President Biden and the Democratic Party.”

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But none of that changes the facts when they lie: Harris has so far agreed to a single presidential debate to be hosted by ABC News, a network where her close friend of 30 years is a powerful executive. ABC is currently part of a massive propaganda campaign intended to catapult an unqualified, incompetent, far-left candidate over the finish line in November. And this is happening while her opponent is embroiled in a defamation lawsuit with the network.

So, does Harris’ friendship with Walden constitute a conflict of interest? Well, as they say, “If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck.”

Elizabeth Stauffer is a contributor to Washington Examiner and that Western Journal. Follow her on X or LinkedIn.