Lawmakers demand investigation into FCC Chairman Ajit Pai
Ars Technica 2017-11-13
Enlarge / FCC Chairman Ajit Pai being interviewed at Fox Studios on November 10, 2017 in New York City. (credit: Getty Images | John Lamparski)
Two Democratic lawmakers today called for an investigation into whether Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai "has taken actions to improperly beneļ¬t Sinclair Broadcast Group."
The FCC has made several decision that benefit Sinclair, a broadcast station owner with a right-wing tilt. Among other things, the FCC rolled back broadcast TV station ownership limits, which could help Sinclair complete an acquisition of Tribune Media Company and, in the process, reach 72 percent of TV-owning households in the US.
According to two representatives, Pai hasn't sufficiently answered questions about his relationship with Sinclair. Those congressmen are Energy and Commerce ranking member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.) and Oversight and Government Reform ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-MD.), who said as much in a letter to FCC Inspector General David Hunt.