Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee announce they are launching an investigation into Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr’s “attacks on the First Amendment and his weaponization of the independent agency.” In a press statement, Committee Democrats accuse
Carr of “illegally targeting broadcast networks and media companies perceived to be unfavorably covering the Trump Administration – wasting critical agency resources on bogus investigations in the process.” The lawmakers are also questioning 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 in his personal capacity.” Committee Ranking Members says that “under Carr’s leadership, the FCC has harassed CBS for routine editing practices, reinstated lawfully denied complaints against ABC and NBC, launched a bogus investigation into KCBS-AM in San Jose simply for reporting publicly available information, and directed the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau to launch investigations into NPR and PBS based on false allegations.” The Committee is requesting documents and communications “related to its investigations of media entities,” “all communications between Carr and current White House officials and between Carr and other Trump Administration officials that relate to investigations,” as well as Carr’s travel records.
