Democracy Now! decided to break the sound barrier and give Kucinich a chance to take part. In an exclusive broadcast, we re-broadcast excerpts of the debate and give the Ohio Congressman a chance to answer the questions he might have faced if he hadn't been silenced.
In court filings, NBC painted itself as the victim. Attorneys for the network wrote, "Mr. Kucinich's claim is nothing more than an illegitimate private cause of action designed to impose an equal access requirement that entirely undermines the wide journalistic freedoms enjoyed by news organizations under the First Amendment." Attorneys for General Electric's NBC also argued, "A television station does not have to grant unlimited access to a candidate debate. If anyone's First Amendment rights are being infringed, they are MSNBC's."
Link available to listen & watch the whole debate, with Kucinich's responses, is also at this page. In a related story, the debate did not air locally due to the legal scuffle.