Incoming Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr threatened on Tuesday to upend Skydance’s planned merger with Paramount Global over CBS' refusal to release the transcript of its 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris.
Carr noted to Fox News host Dana Perino how the FCC gave broadcast networks “free access to a valuable public resource, the airwaves” in exchange that “they have to serve the public interest.” He then brought up a conservative watchdog’s complaint to the FCC over 60 Minutes’ editing of its Harris interview last month, saying it would become a factor in how the agency reviewed the transaction.
“I’m pretty confident that that news distortion complaint over the 60 Minutes transcript is something that is likely to arise in the context of the FCC review of that transaction," he said.
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The Daily Beast has reached out to Carr for comment but has not yet heard back. Paramount, CBS' parent company, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The conflation of the two further indicates Trump intends to pursue withdrawing the broadcast licenses of networks whose coverage he disagrees with.
Trump elevated Carr from commissioner to incoming FCC chairman in a statement on Sunday night, and Carr indicted in an X post hours later that broadcast licenses could be under threat.
“Broadcast media have had the privilege of using a scarce and valuable public resource—our airwaves,“ Carr wrote in an early Monday post. ”In turn, they are required by law to operate in the public interest. When the transition is complete, the FCC will enforce this public interest obligation."
60 Minutes’ interview with Harris came under scrutiny last month after it aired a different version of a Harris answer on the war in Gaza than one it gave to CBS’ Face the Nation, which featured a more meandering response from Harris. Trump then accused the show of trying to clean up Harris’ remarks and demanded the show release the transcript, but it refused in a blistering statement last month that called Trump’s accusation false. (Carr also called for the network to release the transcript.)
“60 Minutes gave an excerpt of our interview to Face the Nation that used a longer section of her answer than that on 60 Minutes. Same question. Same answer,” it wrote. “But a different portion of the response. When we edit any interview, whether a politician, an athlete, or movie star, we strive to be clear, accurate and on point. The portion of her answer on 60 Minutes was more succinct, which allows time for other subjects in a wide ranging 21-minute-long segment.”
The Center for American Rights filed an FCC complaint that said the two clips were evidence of deliberate news distortion, which would violate the FCC’s public-interest guidelines. FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has said the agency would not revoke licenses for political purposes.
Trump later sued CBS for $10 billion over the debacle, which CBS called “completely without merit.” Both the lawsuit and FCC complaint are still pending— Skydance-Paramount merger that will create a $28 billion company, which is undergoing regulatory review.
Carr’s statement is also one of the first instances of a 2024 Trump appointee threatening to meddle in a business transaction that intersects with Trump’s vendettas, a facet of Trump’s first administration.
The New Yorker reported in 2019 that Trump ordered two White House officials to force the Justice Department to try and block AT&T’s purchase of Time Warner, and speculation arose over whether his hatred of CNN influenced his attempts to nuke the deal.
After journalist Aaron Rupar shared a clip on X of the Fox News interview and noted Carr was “threatening to harass NBC and CBS over MAGA conspiracy theories,” Carr did not dispute his intent to weaponize the agency to go after the networks in a reply to Rupar.
“Thank you for sharing, Aaron, One quick note: I’m not a nominee. I am already confirmed through 2029. So becoming Chairman just requires a letter designation from the President. Enjoy!”
