Pai Declines Calls to Recuse Himself From Sinclair/Tribune
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai rejected calls he recuse himself on Sinclair buying Tribune, in a letter to Senate Antitrust Subcommittee ranking member Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., released Tuesday. The Office of Inspector General is investigating Pai's actions on rulemakings that benefited Sinclair. Free Press and Demand Progress sought recusal (see 1802150031).
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“I have confirmed with the FCC’s Office of General Counsel that nothing in the law suggests that recusal is appropriate, much less required, in these circumstances. And it should go without saying that mere policy differences do not warrant recusal,” Pai said. Klobuchar urged Pai in December to sit out the deal, citing FCC actions during his chairmanship “to weaken media ownership limitations and troubling concerns raised about your impartiality” in matters affecting Sinclair. “My actions" on media ownership rules since joining the FCC in 2012 "have been motivated by my belief that a strong over-the-air broadcast service advances the public interest,” Pai told Klobuchar.
Pai separately told Klobuchar, Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and eight other Senate Democrats that his agency “is conducting an open and transparent process” for evaluating Sinclair/Tribune “as required by FCC rules and regulations and that our decision will be based on a careful analysis of the robust record that has been developed.” The lawmakers repeated their call for Pai to “closely scrutinize media mergers that fall within its jurisdiction,” including Sinclair/Tribune. Recent changes to media ownership rules “will enable broadcast stations -- particularly in the small and mid-sized markets -- to better serve their local communities,” Pai said. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied earlier this month a request for an emergency stay of media ownership changes (see 1801260046 and 1802070053).
Senate Democrats sharply critical of Pai's actions on media ownership when they spoke in opposition to his reconfirmation in October (see 1709290064, 1710020030 and 1710020062) were less willing to talk to us last week about the IG investigation and its implications for Pai's involvement in considering the deal. “It's important to have transparency” into Pai's actions, “so we'll see what the IG comes up with,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. If “there's a problem,” he should recuse himself from the decision, she said.