A U.S. House committee has vowed to investigate the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) quick approval of the acquisition of 200 bankrupt radio stations by Democrat ally and progressive billionaire donor George Soros.
The sale of Audacy, Inc., in a plan to emerge from bankruptcy with Soros Fund Management as the controlling shareholder, was approved by the FCC in a 3-2 vote.
Two Republican FCC board members, Brendan Carr and Nate Simington, were “vociferously disapproving the deal over Soros’ ties to liberal and Democratic causes,” according to the Radio and Television Business Report.
The rush to approve the sale has been dubbed the “Soros shortcut” by U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, because of the speedy thumbs up for the deal.
Audacy, the country’s second largest radio broadcaster, filed for bankruptcy in January in Houston, Texas, amid plummeting advertising sales and an overabundance of debt.
“I think what’s interesting about it is that the FCC is not following its normal process for reviewing transactions that it has established over a number of years,” Carr warned, reported the National Desk. “It seems to me the FCC is poised, for the first time, to create an entirely new shortcut.”
Rep. James Comer, R-Kentucky, and House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-New York, requested documents from FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel that would explain the rush to award the radio stations’ control to Soros.
“Despite the unprecedented nature of this action, the FCC majority has apparently decided to approve licenses on an accelerated timeframe for a company in which George Soros has a major ownership stake… By all appearances, the FCC majority isn’t just expediting, but is bypassing an established process to do a favor for George Soros and facilitate his influence over hundreds of radio stations before the November election,” the lawmakers wrote to Rosenworcel.
In addition to concerns expressed by Republicans about the hasty nature by which the FCC was giving approval to a prominent Democrat donor to buy up public airwaves, federal regulations also require special review when a foreign entity wants to buy more than a 25% stake in an American media company, as is the case with Audacy.
The Soros group has requested a waiver from the review process, proposing to address the issue later to keep the sale expedited.
Roy has asked the FCC to “run a fair and transparent process – one that abides by the requirements of the law – that thoroughly reviews the concerns posed by foreign ownership of American radio stations.”
The oversight committee’s letter to Rosenworcel expressed special concern because Soros-funded organizations have strongly supported restrictions on free speech, and advocated censorship policies targeted at conservatives under the guise of combating misinformation, policies which also have been touted by prominent Democrats.
In recent weeks, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democrat Party’s failed 2016 nominee for president, expressed a desire to impose criminal penalties on those who would spread “misinformation.”
Last week, John Kerry, also a former Secretary of State and a failed Democrat presidential nominee, called for restrictions on the U.S. Constitution’s protections on the First Amendment, claiming it made the task of governing too onerous.
Those threats take on added color because Audacy controls the networks that broadcast some of America’s most popular conservative voices, including Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and Dan Bongino.
In their letter, the GOP legislators have demanded the following from the FCC:
- All documents and communications related to radio station licenses associated with Audacy, Inc. or Soros Fund Management;
- All documents and communications related to any FCC action, including any interim or final action, taken with respect to radio station licenses associated with Audacy, Inc. or Soros Fund Management; and
- All documents and communications containing the term “George Soros” or the term “Soros Fund Management.”
America First Legal (AFL) has hinted at legal action to prevent the transaction, saying it has initiated an investigation into the FCC’s apparent expedited approval for Soros.
Audacy operates over 200 stations in 40 markets, with more than 165 million American listeners.
