It’s Time for Brendan Carr to Come Clean About His Assault on Press Freedom
The incoming chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Investigations gives Trump’s FCC Chairman a hard deadline for responding to inquiries into his unconstitutional actions
WASHINGTON — On Thursday, Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal sent a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr demanding records as part of an investigation into “how the President and the Federal Communications Commission’s actions erode and undermine freedom of speech and freedom of the press and bear on the laws governing media consolidation.”
Senator Blumenthal condemned Chairman Carr for failing to fully respond to previous Subcommittee requests and set a Nov. 30 deadline for the FCC’s full compliance. “Failure to voluntarily produce the requested records and information … will leave the Subcommittee with no choice but to consider alternative measures to obtain compliance,” Sen. Blumenthal wrote, implying that subpoenas will be issued should Carr ignore this request any longer.
Since the beginning of Trump’s second term, Carr has weaponized the FCC in service of the president’s frequent attacks against news outlets. The chairman has threatened outlets that anger the president, while launching inquiries and investigations to silence unfavorable reporting about Trump. Among other questionable actions, Carr ordered an early license review of eight ABC stations after its parent company, Disney, upset the president; and ignored laws passed by Congress to greenlight the massive Nexstar-Tegna broadcast merger.
Free Press Action Co-CEO Jessica J. González said:
“Chairman Carr has loyally followed Trump’s demands to censor the press. He’s facilitated corruption and leveraged his authority to help the president squeeze special favors and bribes from companies seeking FCC merger approval. We thank Senator Blumenthal for making this issue a priority as Democrats take the gavel of the Investigations Subcommittee.
“Carr’s capricious abuse of the law has no place in a legitimate democracy. The statutes that govern the FCC’s power and the U.S. Constitution do not permit Brendan Carr and the FCC to violate the public’s right to a free press just because the President’s fragile ego demands it. In his haste to please Trump, Carr has chilled the speech of all media, including those that don’t even fall under the agency’s authority.
“Over the past two years, Carr has regularly violated his oath to support and defend the Constitution. He’s been more than happy to browbeat and jawbone broadcasters into silence though his claims have zero legal merit. We believe Carr’s actions should lead to his removal from office, by impeachment if necessary.”
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