FCC chairman Brendan Carr told reporters Monday that he has not yet reviewed public comments in the agency’s investigation of the way that a CBS 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris was edited, giving little indication that a resolution was imminent.“Personally I have not reviewed those comments at this point, but at some point we will get to in terms of reviewing the comments and making a final decision,” Carr told reporters.Carr also did not address Donald Trump‘s urging that he impose “the maximum fines and punishment” on the network, although the FCC chairman said that “all options remain on the table. That continues to be an open investigation.” He did not rule out fines or even a move to revoke a network station broadcast license, that latter of which he acknowledged it would be “a pretty high bar” for him “to go down that path.”The FCC investigation is occurring against the backdrop of the agency’s review of the Skydance–Paramount merger. Last week, the show’s executive producer, Bill Owens, resigned, citing corporate interference, coming at a time when Paramount Global’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, is seeking Trump administration approval of the transaction.Trump sued CBS in October over the 60 Minutes edit, claiming that the network violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, a law typically used by consumers to challenge false advertising. Trump claimed that the show purposely edited one of Harris’ answers to make her look better and boost her election chances. CBS denied that it was deceptive, and said that the edit was a common TV news industry practice.Even though a number of legal observers say that Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit is frivolous, Paramount Global and the president’s legal team have engaged in settlement discussions and have selected a mediator. A resolution of the lawsuit would be seen as a way to appease Trump and pave the way for the merger’s approval. Inside CBS News, though, a settlement is widely seen as compromising the editorial integrity of the network’s newsmagazine crown jewel.Around the same time that Trump filed his lawsuit, a conservative group, the Center for American Rights, filed an FCC complaint over the broadcast, but that was dismissed by Carr’s predecessor, Jessica Rosenworcel. But Carr, appointed by Trump, revived the complaint and launched an inquiry.Carr has cited a potential violation of an FCC policy against “news distortion.” The agency has said that its authority is “narrow” and it must be proven that an outlet “deliberately distorted” a factual news report.60 Minutes turned over the unedited transcript and video footage, and the show pointed to it as proof that there was nothing deceptive about the broadcast. The other part of Harris’ answer was aired in a preview on Face the Nation, but kept out of the 60 Minutes broadcast due to time constraints, the show noted.Nevertheless, Carr sent the case out for public comment, adding more than a month of delay to any decision in the investigation. The final deadline in the comment period was March 24.The Skydance-Paramount merger review, meanwhile, is still within the FCC’s 180-day informal timeline for review, Carr noted. It’s now on day 164.Carr had previously said that the 60 Minutes complaint was “likely to arise” in the context of the review of the transaction.Asked what he would do if there was a settlement of the Trump lawsuit and the president ordered that the merger be approved, Carr said, “We are simply focused on the record that is before us, and we are going to make our decision based on the agency’s record itself, and we can’t sort of engage in [that] type of speculation.”He said that the settlement discussions “have nothing to do with the work we’re doing at the FCC.”“We;re just running our normal process across a lot of different transactions right now.”Meanwhile, Anna Gomez, one of two Democrats on the commission, blasted Carr’s investigations into CBS and other networks and news outlets, calling it a “growing campaign of censorship and control.”“The FCC has targeted the editorial decisions of news networks, independent reporting by public media and internal labor practices by private companies,” she told reporters. “These are dangerous and unprecedented actions taken by the leading public regulator.” She also cited Owens’ resignation as a “first in the program’s 57-year history.” She said that the Trump administration actions “threaten a free independent press, free speech protections and exert undue pressure that compromises the autonomy of private enterprises.”Last week, Gomez launched what she is calling a First Amendment Tour, with the first event at the Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington, D.C.The other Democrat on the commission, Geoffrey Starks, is resigning. There is no indication that Trump is going to nominate another Democrat to take his place, and he is prohibited by statute from appointing another Republican to fill the slot. Trump ousted the two Democrats on the Federal Trade Commission, although they have filed a lawsuit challenging their removals as illegal.Asked about her concerns of being ousted, Gomez said, “I’m not worried in that regard…It would violate the spirit of the law that governs this agency.”
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