The Defective Audio and Presidential Debate 1

The Commission on Presidential Debates issued the following one sentence statement:

“Regarding the first (Presidential) debate, there were issues regarding Donald Trump’s audio that affected the sound level in the debate hall”

For quite sometime now, there have been a series of conspiracy theories linking unusual events or happenings with Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.   I dismissed most of the Clinton campaign oddities because they were based on speculation.   Unfortunately, that is no longer possible because the “conspiracy” has gone beyond obvious media reporting bias to hard evidence.

It is admitted is that Donald Trump’s audio malfunctioned at the first presidential debate.  However, an audio system, like a gun, does not decide to function or malfunction without the intrusion of a human hand.  

When I asked some conference experts about audio control, they noted that a sound company is normally employed to ensure that speaker microphones and sound quality is maintained.   The process works something like this:  First, a sound company does the setup and checks out everything ahead of time.  Second, conference planners and speaker support personnel also check the equipment, thus providing a double check.  Third, while this is not the most complicated of activities, the experience of the sound technician is important.  An inexperienced onsite sound technician can make a mistake by cutting the wrong microphone feed, producing the proverbial “screetch”, or otherwise misadjusting control knobs and switches.  Fourth, almost never mentioned, was the microphone itself as the check out procedure would discover a defect.

I asked if it was possible to sabotage a specific audio feed.  The answer was unequivocally yes, and the faulty sound output would result from the actions of a sound technician, the production broadcaster or an unidentified third party.  It is possible to position a microphone in an uncomfortable position for a speaker and that could impact sound transmission quality, but microphones are physically adjustable.  (It is also common for speaker management personnel to be near the stage and to know how to adjust a microphone or podium for comfort, to check the connections, or to ensure the transmission to the audience.)

Bottom line:  There is admitted direct evidence of an audio problem (that specifically affected Donald Trump and left Hillary Clinton problem free)!  There is circumstantial evidence that links the Trump audio system problem to a chain of technicians and debate support personnel at a minimum!  This isn’t conspiracy theory but facts and inferential evidence that could be admitted in a court of law for use by a jury.

It appears that somebody tampered with the Trump audio either before or during the Presidential debate.  The only question at this point is who as the why is relatively obvious.

Definitions:

A Conspiracy Theory is a theory that explains an event or situation as the result of a secret plan by usually powerful people or groups.

Circumstantial Evidence is evidence that relies on an inference to connect it to a conclusion of fact — like a fingerprint at the scene of a crime.

Direct Evidence supports the truth of an assertion without the need for any additional evidence or inference –- like a defective tire that exploded.