Maybe Those CNN Town Hall Questions Weren't So Scripted (Parkland Dad Backtracks)

By Susan Wright | 8:30 PM on February 27, 2018

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I owe CNN an apology.

When young Colton Haab, a survivor of the Parkland shooting, went to Fox News and other outlets to say he backed out of appearing at the CNN town hall because they tried to tell him what to say, I was all over it.

It really did plump up the “CNN = Fake News” narrative, and let’s face it, that town hall was atrocious. I would like to think I would be patient enough with those kids and some of those obnoxious parents that I could keep from snapping.

I’d like to think that, but I sure wouldn’t be willing to guarantee it.

Young Haab and his father, Glenn Haab, insisted that CNN producers attempted to script his appearance. CNN insisted that they had not, and shortly after the controversy began, released the email exchange with the elder Haab, as further proof.

CNN denies scripting any remarks and released an email exchange between a CNN producer and Glenn Haab that it says Glenn Haab altered. The altered email was sent to other news outlets, including Fox News.

Haab acknowledges omitting some words from the email but says he didn’t do it on purpose.

How do you omit words from an email – not on purpose – and then send that email to different outlets?

https://twitter.com/eliza_relman/status/967214553858822144

Business Insider actually reported on the controversy Friday.

But Haab’s father sent the network a long speech that he insisted his son read at the town hall. CNN, citing time constraints, told Glenn they needed Colton to stick with the question “that he submitted.”

When the elder Haab passed along the correspondence between his family and the network to media outlets, Business Insider reported, he omitted the key phrase, “that he submitted.”

Let’s face it: the senior Haab was seeing media fame in his son’s future. Young Colton would be the anti-David Hogg.

Dishonesty on either side of the gun debate should be discouraged. That Glenn Haab doctored those emails, and only now, after scrutiny says it “wasn’t on purpose” shows just what lengths some people will go to, in order to get their 15 minutes of fame.