Senator Adam Schiff is calling on FCC Chair Brendan Carr to answer whether the commission’s approval of the Paramount–Skydance merger and CBS’s cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert were influenced by President Trump or his associates.
In a letter dated August 18, Schiff says the chain of events raises “significant questions and alarm that the FCC—an independent regulatory agency—has become a vehicle for President Trump to exact personal retribution and undermine the freedom of the press.”
Schiff outlines a timeline that begins with Paramount’s July 1 settlement of a $16 million lawsuit filed by Trump over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, followed by FCC Chair Carr’s private July 15 meeting with Skydance CEO David Ellison, and and the FCC’s final approval of the merger on July 24.
The approval was granted on the condition that Skydance make “written commitments to ensure that the new company’s programming embodies a diversity of viewpoints from across the political and ideological spectrum,” which Schiff says “suggest[s] an active effort by the FCC to shape the company’s future programming content in alignment with President Trump’s criticism of Paramount.”
Schiff specifically cites The Late Show with Stephen Colbert—the most prominent CBS program criticized by Trump—and asks whether the FCC communicated with Skydance or Paramount “concerning specific programming content decisions, including The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
The letter demands answers to eight questions, including whether the FCC coordinated with the White House about the Colbert show, and what legal basis the commission used to impose editorial requirements. Schiff also asks about the alleged $20 million in ad spending Trump has claimed was promised as part of the deal, and what safeguards are in place to prevent political interference in future media mergers.
CBS maintains that its decision to cancel The Late Show was made for “purely financial” reasons; Ellison and Skydance have said that they played no role in the Colbert’s cancellation, and were only given a heads up hours before the network’s announcement. Coincidentally, Schiff was a guest on Colbert’s July 17 episode, the night his cancellation was announced.
Carr has until August 25 to respond to Schiff’s letter, which can be read in its entirety below:
