Court Rejects Perot’s Appeal to Join Debates
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WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court rejected Reform Party nominee Ross Perot’s last-ditch attempt Friday to sue his way onto the debate stage with President Clinton and Republican nominee Bob Dole.
The U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a district court order dismissing the lawsuits of Perot and another third-party presidential candidate, John Hagelin of the Natural Law Party.
Perot’s lawyers had complained that the Commission on Presidential Debates, which excluded him, used criteria that went beyond Federal Election Commission rules and that the FEC delegated its power to the private group.
The debate commission’s members--five representatives each of the Democratic and Republican parties--ruled that Perot and Hagelin did not have a realistic chance of being elected and did not invite them to the debates.
It was Perot’s second defeat of the day: He was also turned down in efforts to force the TV networks to sell him more blocks of prime time. The FCC said Perot has been able to buy prime-time blocks and therefore has had adequate access.
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