FCC chair rips Colbert 'hoax' after CBS denied blocking Talarico interview, says media fell for it
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr on Wednesday took several swipes at the media he said promoted a "hoax" about Stephen Colbert's interview with Texas Democrat James Talarico.
The "Late Show" host made headlines Monday when he accused CBS of blocking his interview with the Senate hopeful amid the FCC's crackdown on the longstanding equal candidate time rule the agency is enforcing on the broadcast networks. However, CBS released a statement Tuesday denying it ordered Colbert not to air the interview and that his show chose to share it on YouTube instead of abiding by the FCC policy.
At the FCC's monthly press conference Wednesday, Carr said he was "highly entertained" by the saga that unfolded, calling it "one of the most fun days I've had in the job."
COLBERT TRASHES ‘CRAP’ CBS STATEMENT DENYING NETWORK KILLED TALARICO INTERVIEW
"Anybody that's, you know, not suffering from a terminal case of Trump Derangement Syndrome can see right away yesterday the exact story arc and how it was gonna play out," Carr told reporters.
"You had a Democrat candidate who understood the way that the news media works, and he took advantage of all of your sort of prior conceptions to run the hoax, apparently for the purpose of raising money and getting clicks. And the news media played right into it.
"Yesterday was a perfect encapsulation of why the American people have more trust in gas station sushi than they do in the national news media. ... And you guys ate it up like slop," Carr continued. "And when it was pointed out to the facts were completely different than what the fake news media was running with, nobody did, like, an about-face or did a fact correction. They just pivoted and moved away."
The FCC chair pointed to comments made by Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, who acknowledged that there wasn't censorship by the federal government in this case.
"I think you guys should feel a bit ashamed for having been lied to and to just run with the lies. I think it was an embarrassing episode for the media," Carr added.
Carr also confirmed Fox News Digital's report that the agency launched a probe into ABC's "The View," which notably was triggered by Talarico's appearance earlier this month.
On Monday night, Colbert asserted that network lawyers at CBS halted the Talarico interview from airing.
"He was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network's lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast," Colbert told viewers.
The next day, a CBS spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "THE LATE SHOW was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Rep. James Talarico. The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled. THE LATE SHOW decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options."
Colbert fired back at the statement, telling viewers he wasn't approached by CBS before the statement was made.
"I don’t know what this is about. For the record, I’m not even mad. I really don’t want an adversarial relationship with the network. I’ve never had one," Colbert said. "I’m just so surprised that this giant, global corporation would not stand up to these bullies."
Last month, the FCC announced it was enforcing its long-standing equal time rule that allows all legally qualified candidates, regardless of party, to receive equal airtime on the broadcast networks.
According to the policy, Talarico's Democratic primary rivals — Crockett and little-known candidate Ahmad Hassan — would require the same amount of airtime on the networks he appears on.
Colbert attempted to defend himself by pointing to the two interviews he had done with Crockett, except both were done before she launched her Senate bid in December.
Talarico's Colbert interview has reached nearly 6 million views on YouTube as of Wednesday afternoon, and his campaign announced raising $2.5 million in the 24 hours since the controversy erupted.
Liberal critics have accused CBS of attempted censorship, while conservative critics have accused Colbert of aiding Talarico and sidestepping the FCC rules to avoid promoting Crockett in the final stretch of the campaign. The primary election will be held March 3 in the closely watched race.