FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, in a letter dated August 12 and released Tuesday, defended the agency's approval of Skydance Media's $8.4 billion acquisition of Paramount Global as a standard process in the public interest. He rejected Senator Richard Blumenthal's claim that the FCC's actions were tied to payments to President Donald Trump.
Paramount settled a $20 billion lawsuit from Trump for $16 million, related to claims that CBS News' "60 Minutes" deceptively edited an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Paramount admitted no wrongdoing.
Reuters reports Blumenthal, in a July letter, accused the FCC of enabling "government censorship" through the merger approval. Carr countered that the FCC conducted a routine review, consistent with standard practices, and expressed confidence that the approval serves the public interest.
The FCC approved the merger 2-1 in late July after Skydance agreed to maintain unbiased CBS news and entertainment programming, appoint an ombudsman for two years to handle complaints, and end diversity programs. Last week, Senator Adam Schiff questioned whether Trump sought programming or media coverage commitments as part of the merger approval.