Public Interest Groups Want Pai Recusal Over Reported Inspector General Sinclair Investigation
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai should recuse himself from Sinclair buying Tribune after The New York Times reported the Inspector General is investigating his actions on rulemakings that have benefited the buyer. The FCC didn’t confirm such an inquiry is occurring.…
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Legislators asked for a probe in November (see 1711130038). “This investigation makes it crystal clear: Pai must recuse himself from review of the proposed Sinclair-Tribune,” said Demand Progress Campaign Director Kurt Walters. “To ensure the integrity of the FCC’s review process, the commission should take no action on this mega-merger until the conclusion of the inspector general’s investigation." If the IG finds that “Pai or any other FCC staff did indeed let their own bias and favoritism shape decisions related to the deal, they must not be permitted to vote on this matter and they should be subject to other appropriate ethics-review processes,” said Free Press Senior Counsel Jessica Gonzalez. “The publicly available evidence suggests a pattern of abuse where Sinclair forces its local stations to air pro-[President Donald] Trump messages in exchange for policy favors from the Trump administration and its FCC chairman.” Given the agency under Pai "recently proposed a $13 million fine against Sinclair (see 1712210042) the largest fine in history for a violation of the Commission’s sponsorship identification rules, the accusation that he has shown favoritism toward the company is absurd," emailed an FCC spokesman. Pai has long sought updates to media ownership rules, and his actions "have been consistent with his long-held views," the spokesman said. "Considering the strong case for modernizing these rules, it's not surprising that those who disagree with him would prefer to do whatever they can to distract from the merits of the reforms that the FCC has adopted.”