FCC report finds chairman showed no favoritism with Sinclair
WASHINGTON — An internal investigation has found “no evidence” that Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, acted inappropriately to assist Sinclair Broadcast Group as the company sought the agency’s approval for a $3.9 billion merger with Tribune Media this past year.
The FCC inspector general’s report, published Monday, concluded that recent policy initiatives by Pai that proved helpful to Sinclair were not the result of pressure from either the conservative media giant or the Trump administration. The findings support Pai’s insistence that his actions reflect long-held policy convictions, rather than a desire to play favorites.
“We found no evidence, nor even the suggestion, of impropriety, unscrupulous behavior, favoritism towards Sinclair, or lack of impartiality related to the proposed Sinclair-Tribune Merger,” the report said.
The probe’s conclusion could help insulate Pai from his critics in Congress, who last year called for the investigation after highlighting what they said was a suspicious pattern of FCC behavior. But Monday’s report also raised further questions for Pai as it confirmed his communications with some White House staff.
On July 16, the report said, Pai received a phone call from White House lawyer Donald McGahn, who wanted to know the status of the FCC’s Sinclair merger review. Asked this month about contacts between the Trump administration and the FCC concerning the merger, Pai told reporters that the White House had never “contacted us to express a view” about the deal.
FCC commissioners are expected to operate independently of the White House and the rest of the executive branch, despite being political appointees nominated by the president.
Pai successfully rolled back rules that make it harder for media companies to consolidate in certain markets. He has pledged to modify a rule that currently limits the audience reach of any broadcast company to a maximum of 39 percent of U.S. households, a regulation designed to ensure a diversity of voices on the airwaves. And Pai reinstated an FCC accounting method, known as the UHF discount, that effectively helps large media companies stay on the right side of the cap more easily.
Sinclair’s proposed deal initially would have led the combined company to exceed the cap, even with the UHF discount. It therefore stood to gain from any move by Pai to relax the national audience cap.