Claims about ABC whistleblower and affidavit alleging debate bias lack evidence

Rumors are swirling online about an alleged ABC News whistleblower claiming the network colluded with Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign ahead of the debate on Sept. 10. 

This comes as former President Donald Trump and some of his supporters have accused ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis, who moderated the debate, of being biased in favor of Harris. 

Viral posts claim an ABC News whistleblower is alleging that the network colluded with Harris, and said in an affidavit that the vice president received debate questions ahead of time as well as promises that only Trump would be fact-checked. An affidavit is a sworn statement put into writing that is commonly used in legal proceedings.

Those posts also claim the purported affidavit was signed and notarized one day before the debate.

Other social media posts, including one from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), claimed the unnamed whistleblower died in a car crash, citing “news reports.” 

Multiple readers, including Dorothy, Cheryl and Nancy, asked us to look into these claims about an ABC whistleblower and the affidavit they are said to have written.

Here’s what we can VERIFY about the alleged whistleblower, the purported affidavit and what ABC News has said in response.

THE SOURCES

• Posts by @DocNetyoutube on X
• Analysis of the alleged affidavit
• Harris’ bio on the California Office of the Attorney General website
• Press releases on House Speaker Mike Johnson’s website
• Google, Bing and Yahoo search queries for reports about Tony West embezzlement allegations
• ABC News spokesperson
• Los Angeles Times interview with ABC News anchor and debate moderator Linsey Davis
• Posts on X from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.)
• Article published by a Wordpress blog on Sept. 13
• Associated Press report published on Sept. 13

WHAT WE FOUND

There’s no evidence to support claims that an alleged ABC News whistleblower exists or that the affidavit they are said to have written is authentic. 

A spokesperson for ABC News denied claims that Harris received any questions ahead of the debate, as viral posts about the alleged affidavit claim. 

Claims about ABC whistleblower stem from ‘MAGA’ account

There’s no evidence that an ABC News whistleblower alleging bias in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris actually exists. 

Whistleblowers often share internal information with well-known and reputable media outlets.  But the claims about the ABC News whistleblower originated from an X account called @DocNetyoutube, which has less than 150,000 followers as of Sept. 23 and has labeled itself as a “Black Insurrectionist.”

The account’s bio says, “I am #MAGA,” referring to Trump’s popular “Make America Great Again” slogan.

On Thursday, Sept. 12, @DocNetyoutube posted that they would release an unnamed ABC whistleblower’s affidavit showing Harris’ campaign colluded with the network before the presidential debate. 

They did not provide any information about the alleged whistleblower's role at ABC News, and mentioned that an attorney would “black out” the whistleblower's name and other information that could “dox” them.

VERIFY was unable to reach @DocNetyoutube for comment.

What the purported affidavit says

On Sunday, Sept. 15, @DocNetyoutube posted photos of the purported affidavit, which says it is raising concerns about “procedural fairness” leading up to the ABC News presidential debate.

It alleges that ABC News and Harris’ campaign agreed former President Donald Trump would be subject to fact-checking during the debate while Harris would “not face comparable scrutiny.” And it claims Harris’ campaign was provided with “sample questions that, while not the exact questions, covered similar topics that would appear during the debate.”

The alleged affidavit also says the Harris campaign “imposed restrictions on the scope of questioning” during the debate, including no questions “related to her tenure as Attorney General in San Francisco” and her brother-in-law Tony West who is allegedly facing “allegations of embezzling billions of dollars of taxpayer funds and who may be involved in her administration if elected.”

No evidence to prove that the affidavit is authentic

There’s no evidence that the purported affidavit is genuine. All names and identifying information in the alleged affidavit are redacted, making it difficult to confirm its authenticity. 

The writer of the unconfirmed affidavit only says they “have worked for ABC News for over 10 years in various technical and administrative capacities,” but does not include any more information about their job titles.

The writer also says they sent a “certified letter” to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) dated Sept. 9, 2024, “to establish a record that the correspondence was sent before the debate commenced.”

But Johnson has not publicly confirmed that he received such a letter, nor has he addressed the unconfirmed affidavit or the allegations within it, as of Sept. 23.

The alleged affidavit also includes factually inaccurate information about Harris’ background as well as an unsubstantiated claim about her brother-in-law, Tony West, which further calls into question its authenticity. 

Harris was the attorney general for the state of California – not San Francisco, as written in the alleged affidavit. She served as district attorney in San Francisco from 2004 to 2010. 

VERIFY also did not find any reputable news reports about allegations that Harris’ brother-in-law Tony West embezzled “billions of dollars of taxpayers funds,” as the alleged affidavit claims.

ABC News denies claim about Harris receiving questions before debate

In a statement to VERIFY, a spokesperson for ABC News denied claims that Harris received questions ahead of the debate.  

“ABC News followed the debate rules that both campaigns agreed on and which clearly state: No topics or questions will be shared in advance with campaigns or candidates,” the spokesperson said. 

Both candidates accepted the debate rules, which also stated that no props would be allowed on stage and campaign staff would not be allowed to interact with candidates during commercials breaks, ABC said on Sept. 7. 

The ABC News spokesperson did not address claims about agreements that Trump would be the only candidate subject to fact-checking. However, ABC News anchor Linsey Davis, who moderated the debate alongside ABC’s David Muir, said in a Los Angeles Times interview published on Sept. 11 that the two prepared themselves to counter both of the candidates’ “most egregious statements.”

The decision to attempt to fact-check the candidates in real-time was in response to the June 27 CNN debate between Trump and President Joe Biden, Davis told the Los Angeles Times. 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene amplifies unsubstantiated claim about whistleblower’s death

On the same day the alleged affidavit was shared on X, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said in a viral post that the whistleblower “died in a car crash,” citing “news reports.” 

That claim stems from an article published by a Wordpress blog on Sept. 13 that has since been deleted. No other reputable news organizations have reported on the alleged ABC News whistleblower’s death. 

Greene’s post and the blog post do not name the alleged whistleblower or include any information about their role at ABC News.

The blog post references a crash that took place on Sept. 13 outside of Bethesda, Maryland.

According to the Associated Press, three people were killed in a crash in Nanjemoy, which is roughly 60 miles from Bethesda, involving a senior living facility’s bus and a dump truck on that date. State police did not release the names of anyone who died.

There are several red flags within the article that indicate the blog is not a legitimate news source. The article does not include an author’s name apart from “admin,” and it shows unfinished Wordpress template elements such as “custom footer text left” and “custom footer text right” at the end. 

Greene later acknowledged that claims about the ABC whistleblower’s death in a car crash were unsubstantiated, writing on X, “This story appears to be false and I’m glad to hear it.”