A far-right activist and Donald Trump confidante claims to have obtained a "whistleblower complaint" filed by an ABC News employee with the Securities and Exchange Commission, alleging that the network rigged the debate between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris in the latter's favor. But the complaint is riddled with red flags that cast doubt on its authenticity, reporter James Surowiecki posted on X.
Specifically, Laura Loomer said the complaint alleged: "I have heard and observed conversations and have evidence in hand of ABC news, a wholly owned subsidiary of Disney Media networks, which is a division of The Walt Disney Company, collusion between ABC news (sic) and the Kamala Harris campaign for the Presidency of the United States."
"It is my belief from the context of the conversations, that ABC news in the debate held on September 10, 2024, and at other various times before and after this debate to influence the Presidential election," the complaint continued. "I would like to emphatically state, that I am not a Donald Trump supporter and have never voted for Donald Trump ... [but] I have sat idly by for years and watched the media on both sides of the political spectrum become nothing more than campaign ads for politicians."
But key details of the alleged complaint, said Surowiecki, just don't add up.
"Laura Loomer has the complaint the supposed 'ABC whistleblower' submitted to the SEC, and it is weird. I'm going to write something longer about this, but I'll make one point: ABC News is not a subsidiary of 'Disney Media Networks,' and someone who worked at ABC would know that," he wrote. "ABC was part of a division called Disney Media Networks until 2020, but Disney did a reorg that year, and ABC is now part of Disney General Entertainment. Again, someone high enough up at ABC to have been in on conversations with the Harris campaign would know that."
He also pointed out the complaint contains questionable capitalization errors.
"Another of the odd things about this complaint is that the whistleblower keeps referring to it as 'ABC news,' with 'news' uncapitalized. Again, that's not something a higher-up at ABC would do," he continued.
Loomer, a self-professed "proud Islamophobe" who has defended white nationalism, has become more and more visible alongside Trump at campaign events, even attending a 9/11 memorial with him despite having pushed 9/11 conspiracy theories. Even many far-right GOP figures like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) have condemned her as racist and unhinged, and urged Trump not to work with her.