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The American Conservative Union on Tuesday accused Politico of attempting to "cancel" the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) by contacting potential sponsors in an act that "crosses the line from 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 top editor that promises legal action. It began by claiming Politico has ignored its "ethos" to provide accurate reporting and nonpartisan impactful information.
"We see Politico’s ethos abandoned, and instead find its reporters working, not to report news, but instead to create a self-justifying narrative to support its own partisanship," the letter said.
President Donald J. Trump delivers his remarks Saturday, Feb. 29, 2019, during his appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Md. (Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour)
"We understand that Politico reporters are calling sponsors of our national conference (CPAC) and making claims about both our chairman and our conference that are contrary to the facts. We know this because those very same potential sponsors have immediately contacted us," the letter continued. "In pushing a misleading narrative to our supporters using cooperate resources, Politico is attempting to chill sponsorship of CPAC and harm the American Conservative Union."
American Conservative Union’s general counsel wrote that the effort from Politico staffers "amounts to tortious interference with business relationships" that won’t be tolerated.
"Whether you realize it or not, you are demonstrating to our sponsors and supporters your political bias. Fortunately, most see this effort for what is it: ‘fake news,’" the letter continued. "Our Founding Fathers understood that the press has a special role to play in our democracy. As such, the Framers accorded the news media with protections in the First Amendment. However, Politico’s continued campaign against the American Conservative Union crosses the line from protected speech to political activism."
However, the news organization maintains that it hasn’t done anything wrong.
"POLITICO is doing what journalists do—ask questions and pursue truth. We will continue to do so," a Politico spokesperson told Fox News.
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President Donald Trump hugs the American flag as he arrives to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2019, in Oxon Hill, Md., on March 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The American Conservative Union accused Politico of participating in cancel culture.
"Based on reporter inquiries relayed to us, the unsupported claims, insinuations, and falsehoods made by Politico appear intended to ‘cancel’ both CPAC and the American Conservative Union itself," Safavian wrote. "We fully intend to explore our legal rights to hold Politico accountable for what we see as tortious conduct."
After the letter was sent, Politico published a story headlined, "A top MAGA gathering finds life complicated after Trump," that mentions Safavian’s scornful letter. The Politico report indicates that it did contact CPAC sponsors.
"As for this year’s sponsors, some of whom spent as much as $250,000 in past years for exclusive benefits and branding opportunities, several said they were still evaluating the benefits or had decided not to sponsor at all due to mediocre returns on the investment or changes to the conference structure. Gryphon Editions operations manager Michael Hawkins said his company did not plan to sponsor the conference this year after being informed that the CPAC bookstore, which has been set up for attendees in past years, would no longer be available due to Covid-19 precautions," Politico’s Gabby Orr and Daniel Lippman wrote. "Other past sponsors — including the Washington Examiner, Republican National Committee, Turning Point USA, Heartland Institute and Save our States — said they had yet to make a decision as of last week about sponsoring again."
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The 2021 CPAC is scheduled to take place from Feb. 25-28 in Orlando, Florida. The event, billed as the largest and most influential gathering of conservatives in the world, is typically in Washington, D.C. area but has been relocated to Florida because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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