WASHINGTON—Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee have launched an investigation into Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Brendan Carr for what they are calling attacks on the First Amendment and his weaponization of the independent agency.
In the letter, three Democrats on the E&C Committee blasted Carr for illegally targeting broadcast networks and media companies perceived to be unfavorably covering the Trump Administration and alleged he was wasting critical agency resources on bogus investigations. The lawmakers further questioned Carr’s commitment to his agency’s independence, given his frequent trips with the President to Mar-a-Lago and his targeting of entities that the President has criticized or sued.
The letter comes at a time when ongoing FCC investigations of "news distortion" by stations owned by CBS, ABC and NBC has drawn fire from a number of critics, including past FCC chairs and commissioners. Detailed TV Tech coverage of those issues and others facing the FCC can be found here.
The March 31 letter to Carr said that “You have launched sham investigations into entities disfavored by President Trump, Elon Musk, and the Republican Party to censor journalists and news coverage. In the absence of actual agency authority and any real evidence of wrongdoing, your pursuit of these actions is clearly intended to punish and burden broadcasters and other media companies by inflicting incalculable reputational harm and excessive costs to defend themselves."
"Additionally, and alarmingly, some of your actions are aligned with a private lawsuit in which President Trump in his personal capacity is seeking extensive monetary damage from the same entities you are targeting," the letter complained. "This is an obvious effort to create additional leverage in Trump’s settlement negotiations and encourage payment in a sham lawsuit in exchange for favorable regulatory outcomes. Furthermore, your frequent travel with the President to his property in Florida is inappropriate of the Chairman of an independent agency. It calls into doubt your understanding of the agency’s purpose and raises questions about whether you are inappropriately receiving direction from the President.”
The letter was signed by Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Communications and Technology Subcommittee Ranking Member Doris Matsui (D-CA), and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY).
“We write to express deep concern over your actions to target and intimidate news organizations and broadcasters in violation of the First Amendment,” the letter said. “These troubling actions assault the Constitutionally protected freedom of the press and violate the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) statutory prohibition against engaging in censorship. Moreover, directing FCC staff to devote time and resources to bogus investigations constitutes a violation of the law, gross mismanagement, extreme waste of funds, and an abuse of authority. Therefore, we are also sharing a copy of this letter with the FCC’s Office of Inspector General and are recommending that it open an investigation.”
The Democrats in the letter said that they were particularly troubled by the FCC actions that “harassed” CBS for routine editing practices, reinstated lawfully denied complaints against ABC and NBC. They also complained about what they called a bogus investigation into KCBS-AM in San Jose simply for reporting publicly available information and the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau's investigations into NPR and PBS.
The three Committee leaders also demanded information about the FCC’s actions by April 14. The letter described the documents they were seeking as follows:
- All communications between Carr and current White House officials and between Carr and other Trump Administration officials that relate to investigations of these or other media entities;
- All communications between Carr and third parties related to investigations of these or other media entities;
- An accounting of the staff time Carr has directed toward the investigations identified in the letter and an estimate of the cost associated with that time; and
- All records related to travel with the President on government aircraft and travel to the President’s personal residence in Florida for meetings with the President or other White House officials.
Full text of the letter is available here.
