The dispute surrounding Stephen Colbert’s interview with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico escalated Monday night, as Sen. Richard Blumenthal formally demanded answers from Paramount and the Federal Communications Commission.
Blumenthal, the ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent letters to Paramount Skydance chairman and CEO David Ellison and to the FCC seeking information and records related to Colbert’s interview with Talarico, which the Late Show host indicated CBS had barred from broadcast.
In his letter to Ellison, first reported Monday night by Oliver Darcy for Status, Blumenthal accused CBS parent Paramount of an “apparent willingness to censor critical news and satire at the behest of the President,” raising what he called the “alarming prospect” that the company may be silencing speech to secure political favor as it pursues major merger activity.
He questioned why Paramount chose to comply with what he described as FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s “dubious interpretation” of the Equal Time rule rather than challenge it.
Carr issued a January 21 press release signaling that the FCC would take a closer look at political interviews on late-night and daytime television that it deems “motivated by partisan purposes.” The move represents a departure from decades of precedent that have exempted talk shows and news interviews from Equal Time requirements.
Blumenthal wrote that CBS management prevented Colbert from airing the Talarico interview and directed the show to comply with Carr’s guidance. The interview ultimately ran on YouTube, where it has since drawn more than eight million views.
In a separate letter to the FCC, Blumenthal accused Carr of attempting to justify what he called a “partisan censorship scheme” through flawed legal reasoning. He wrote that the FCC’s actions “willfully misinterpret and disregard decades of settled precedent” and ignore Americans’ First Amendment rights.
A spokesperson for the FCC did not respond to a request for comment. A Paramount spokesperson told Status that the company had not yet seen the letter but would “review it carefully,” adding, “We appreciate and respect the senator’s interest in this issue.”
In a statement, Blumenthal said the situation “cries out for congressional oversight,” accusing both the FCC and Paramount of suppressing speech.
“I’m demanding the answers the American people deserve and putting Donald Trump and his allies on notice,” Blumenthal said. “You will be held accountable for chilling free speech, bullying broadcasters, and undermining the free press.”
Read Blumenthal’s full letter to Ellison below:
Blumenthal really has to get into the right-wing AM talk radio shows and why Carr is not going after them
There is no “there” here. Stephen is trying to remain relevant during his final months on the air.
Colbert’s gonna make your Dear Toddler Drumpf regret having him fired for speaking truth to him. The public’s on Colbert’s side, and not that fat fuck you call president!