Three Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have once again asked FCC Chairman Ajit Pai for answers to a series of questions “he failed to address” in his response to an Aug. 14 letter sent to Pai from the legislators regarding Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Among those displeased with Pai is New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone.
Also seeking more from Pai: Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Doyle (D-Pa.).
In mid-August, the three House Democrats dispatched to Pai a letter that seeks answers to two overarching questions—whether actions taken by the FCC under his chairmanship show a pattern of preferential treatment for Sinclair, and whether a series of interactions between Pai’s office; the Trump Campaign and Trump Administration; and Sinclair “demonstrate inappropriate coordination.”
The follow-up letter, dated Sept. 29 and signed by the trio of Democrats, highlights their continued concern that Pai failed to provide the requested correspondence between his office and Sinclair representatives.
Additionally, the lawmakers still have questions about the timing of the reinstatement of the “UHF discount,” which Republican Commissioners says is necessary in order to review the FCC’s ownership rules as a whole, and the adequacy of the initial public comment periods for the proposed merger between Sinclair and Tribune Media.
Pai responded in a letter dated Sept. 8 that was distributed by the House E&C Democrats a week later with several points regarding his leadership. But, that wasn’t good enough for Pallone, DeGette and Doyle.
Addressing Pai, they said, “The narrative you provided failed to respond to several of our specific questions and raised additional questions. Your failure to provide the requested correspondence between your office and Sinclair representatives is most troubling. We reiterate our request that you provide all correspondence between you and members of your office and representatives of Sinclair, including any lobbyists and lawyers representing Sinclair, since Nov. 8, 2016, regardless of whether it is subject to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.”
In his response to the Aug. 14 letter, Pai said that he was only providing the information requested by the members that had been produced to date in response to FOIA requests, the Democrats note.
The Committee leaders wrote that the FOIA is specific in its instructions that it cannot be used to withhold information from Congress; FOIA cannot be used as an excuse to limit or fail to provide the requested documents.
The lawmakers are asking Pai to provide additional answers by Oct. 12 on questions relating to:
· Meetings and correspondence with Sinclair
· The proposed Sinclair-Tribune merger
· Processing guidance on license transfer applications
· Other potential FCC proceedings
Full text of the letter can be found here.
