The American Conservative Union on Tuesday accused Politico of trying to “cancel” the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), contacting potential sponsors in an act that “crosses the line of protected speech to political activism”.
CPAC organizers sent a scathing letter, signed by American Conservative Union general counsel David Safavian, to Politico’s CEO and editor, promising legal action. He began by claiming that Politico ignored his “ethos” of providing accurate reports and impactful non-partisan information.
“We see the abandoned Politico ethos and instead we find his reporters working, not to report news, but to create a self-justifying narrative to support his own partisanship,” the letter said.
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President Donald J. Trump made his comments on Saturday, February 29, 2019, during his presentation at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland (official White House photo by Tia Dufour )
“We understand that Politico reporters are calling sponsors of our national conference (CPAC) and making statements about our president and our conference that are contrary to the facts. We know this because these same potential sponsors contacted us immediately,” says the letter. continuous. “By pushing a misleading narrative to our supporters using cooperative resources, Politico is trying to cool CPAC’s sponsorship and harm the American Conservative Union.”
Politico did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The American Conservative Union general counsel wrote that the effort of Politico officials “amounts to torturous interference in business relations” that will not be tolerated.
“Whether you realize it or not, you are demonstrating to your sponsors and supporters your political prejudice. Fortunately, most see this effort for what it is: ‘fake news’,” the letter continued. “Our Founding Fathers understood that the press has a special role to play in our democracy. As such, the Creators gave the media First Amendment protections. However, the Politician’s continuing campaign against the American Conservative Union goes beyond the line of speech. protected to political activism. “
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President Donald Trump embraces the American flag when he arrives to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2019, in Oxon Hill, Md., On March 2, 2019. (AP Photo / Carolyn Kaster)
American Conservative Union accused the Politico of participating in the cancellation culture.
“Based on the investigations of the reporters passed on to us, the Politico’s unsubstantiated allegations, innuendo and falsehoods seem destined to ‘cancel’ both the CPAC and the American Conservative Union itself,” Safavian wrote. “We intend to exploit our legal rights to hold Politico accountable for what we see as unlawful conduct.”
After the letter was sent, Politico published a story with the headline, “A big MAGA meeting finds life complicated after Trump”, which mentions Safavian’s dismissive letter. The Politico’s report indicates that it contacted the CPAC sponsors.
“As for this year’s sponsors, some of whom have spent up to $ 250,000 in recent years on exclusive benefits and brand opportunities, several said they were still evaluating the benefits or decided not to sponsor due to mediocre returns on investment or changes to the structure Gryphon Editions operations manager Michael Hawkins said his company did not plan to sponsor the conference this year after being told that the CPAC bookstore, which was created for participants in recent years, would no longer be available due to the Covid 19 precautions, “wrote Gabby Orr and Daniel Lippman of Politico. “Other previous sponsors – including the Washington Examiner, Republican National Committee, Turning Point USA, Heartland Institute and Save our States – said they still haven’t made a decision last week about sponsoring again.”
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The 2021 CPAC is scheduled to take place February 25-28 in Orlando, Florida. The event, considered the largest and most influential conservative gathering in the world, normally takes place in the Washington, DC area, but was relocated to Florida because of the coronavirus pandemic.