Colton Haab's dad admits omitting words in email about CNN town hall 'scripted' question argument

The father of a Florida high school shooting survivor admitted to leaving out words in an email exchange sent to media outlets that accused CNN of using scripted remarks at its town hall on guns and school safety, the Associated Press reported.

What led to this admission?

• Colton Haab — a Junior ROTC captain who helped protect fellow students and teachers from the gunman who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School earlier this month — said he prepared questions as requested for CNN’s town hall last week on the shooting but declined to participate when CNN gave him a “scripted” question instead.
• CNN denied the accusation and countered by releasing emails between network producer Carrie Stevenson, Colton Haab and his father Glenn Haab.
• The email exchange CNN released indicates Stevenson told Glenn Haab that his son needs to stick to a question that he and Stevenson “discussed on the phone that he submitted.”
• But when the Haab version of that email exchange was sent to Fox News and the Huffington Post, it didn't include the phrase “that he submitted.” A word document containing the email given to Fox News reportedly includes metadata showing Glenn Haab last edited it.

• “It is unfortunate that an effort to discredit CNN and the town hall with doctored emails has taken any attention away from the purpose of the event,” a CNN spokesman told Business Insider. “However, when presented with doctored email exchanges, we felt the need to set the record straight.”

What did Glenn Haab admit?

Glenn Haab told the AP he omitted some words from the email but not on purpose: "There was nothing malicious behind it," he told the outlet.

The AP characterized Glenn Haab as "a Republican gun owner."