Democratic FCC commissioner says agency seeking to 'bully' broadcasters

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Democratic member of the Federal Communications Commission said on Thursday that the Republican-led agency is seeking to bully major U.S. broadcasters by reinstating a series of complaints.

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said a Paramount-owned CBS "60 Minutes" interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris did not violate commission rules and said other complaints were improperly reinstated against Walt Disney's ABC and Comcast's NBC.

"There's no good reason to reinstate them other than to bully the broadcasters into reporting in the way that they want them to," Gomez said. "Our licenses authority is being weaponized to curtail the freedom of the press."

Last month, the FCC reinstated complaints about the "60 Minutes" interview with Harris as well as how ABC News moderated the pre-election TV debate between then-President Joe Biden and Donald Trump, as well as against NBC for letting Harris appear on "Saturday Night Live" just before the election she lost to Trump, after the prior FCC chair had rejected them.

Earlier this month, the FCC made public the transcript of the "60 Minutes" Harris interview as part of its investigation.

FCC Chair Brendan Carr, a Republican who was designated chair by Trump, said on Thursday "there's been no final decision made on that particular proceeding."

A complaint alleges the interview violates the FCC's rules on "news distortion." CBS, which turned over the unredacted video and transcript to the FCC, also posted the transcript and video on its website.

CBS said earlier that the transcripts show the "60 Minutes" broadcast was not doctored or deceitful. The network broadcast a longer portion of the vice president's answer on "Face the Nation" and a shorter one on "60 Minutes." The network said "each excerpt reflects the substance of the vice president's answer."

Gomez said: "There was no editing, other than length. There's no manipulation."

Trump has filed a lawsuit against CBS seeking $20 billion over the interview with Harris.

Trump said of the "60 Minutes" issue on Wednesday that the "FCC is looking at it very strongly. We sued, and we are in discussions of settlement."

Paramount is seeking FCC approval for an $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media.

"We haven't made a lot of progress on any transaction at the agency," Carr said, after just a month since Trump's inauguration.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

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