FCC Chair Brendan Carr responds to Stephen Colbert, calling incident 'Democrat on Democrat violence'

"Carr addressed the latest flash point moment between broadcasters and the FCC in his Wednesday remarks during the commission's February open meeting, saying there was 'no censorship by the government here.' Speaking to Fox News' Laura Ingraham on Wednesday evening, Carr doubled down, describing the incident as 'Democrat on Democrat violence,' rather than evidence that the commission had pressured CBS not to air the interview."

"Instead, Carr said, CBS's advice to 'The Late Show' not to air an interview with James Talarico, a Democratic Texas state representative running for a hotly contested US Senate seat, was an appropriate response to prevent the commission from enforcing its equal time rule. The equal time rule requires TV and radio broadcast stations to provide equivalent airtime opportunities to legally qualified political candidates, or risk fines or, potentially, the revocation of their broadcast license."

"The rule has rarely been applied in recent decades. Broadcasters had generally understood a 2006 FCC ruling to mean that interviews on daytime and late-night talk shows were exempt from the rule. However, the FCC said in revised guidance sent to stations last month that 'This is not the case.' The FCC is pursuing 'enforcement actions' against 'The View' over its interview with the same candidate."

FCC Chair Brendan Carr said claims that the government pressured CBS to pull a Democratic lawmaker's interview are 'fake news' and said there was 'no censorship by the government here.' Carr described the removal as 'Democrat on Democrat violence' and defended CBS's decision as an effort to avoid triggering enforcement under the equal time rule. The equal time rule requires equivalent broadcast opportunities for legally qualified candidates and can lead to fines or license revocation. Broadcasters had relied on a 2006 FCC interpretation exempting interviews, but the FCC's revised guidance said that exemption 'is not the case.' The FCC is pursuing enforcement actions against 'The View' over its interview with the same candidate.

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