Republican Party Suspends Partnership with NBC News; Network Issues Response

Today, the Republican National Committee suspended its partnership with NBC News for a scheduled February presidential primary debate, two days after what the committee beleived was aggressive questioning by moderators during a CNBC debate.

Republican candidates and campaigns have been outraged over the contentious tone and focus on "gotcha" questions at what was supposed to a debate focused on economic issues.

In a letter to NBC Chairman Andrew Lack, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said he was suspending their partnership for the upcoming debate, scheduled to be held at the University of Houston on February 26, pending further discussion with the network and the Republican presidential campaigns.

Wrote Priebus: "The CNBC network is one of your media properties, and its handling of the debate was conducted in bad faith. We understand that NBC does not exercise full editorial control over CNBC's journalistic approach. However, the network is an arm of your organization, and we need to ensure there is not a repeat performance." [Source: Time.com]

NBC News has issued the following official statement on the matter:

"This is a disappointing development. However, along with our debate broadcast partners at Telemundo we will work in good faith to resolve this matter with the Republican Party."

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