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(The Center Square)–The U.S. House Oversight Committee is investigating why the Federal Communications Commission fast-tracked a deal that allowed a billionaire Democratic donor to buy a wide swath of American radio stations just weeks before the presidential election.
The major radio company Audacy Inc. fell into financial straits, but through a complex business deal Democratic mega donor and billionaire George Soros has gained control of the stations. Deals of this size require FCC approval, but in this case the FCC expedited the approval process.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr raised concerns about the deal at a Congressional hearing, telling lawmakers that “… the FCC is not following its normal process for reviewing a transaction.”
“We have established over a number of years one way in which you can get approval from the FCC when you have an excess of 25 percent foreign ownership, which this transaction does,” Carr said. ““It seems to me that the FCC is poised to create, for the first time, an entirely new shortcut.”
House Oversight Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky. and Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., sent a letter to FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel Friday raising concerns about the deal.
“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, and with stations in 40 media markets reaching ‘more than 165 million Americans,’” the letter said. “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.”
Critics of the deal say it gives too much power to a heavily political, and liberal, billionaire just before the election.
“I have no idea why Soros would do this unless it was to manipulate the thinking of Americans and the information they listen to,” author and former member of the George W. Bush administration Mike Gonzalez told The Center Square.
“Conservative talk radio is huge, and there is no left wing talk radio because it’s just not interesting,” said Gonzalez, who is now at the Heritage Foundation. “Conservative talk radio is one of the few communications that conservatives have not a monopoly on but have a strong handle on, and he has bought stations that have Mark Levin and Sean Hannity and Dana Loesch and Glenn Beck.”
Critics also point out that Soros’ business partners in the deal include significant funding from sources overseas.
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“The Audacy, Inc. deal, which will lead to Audacy, Inc. being partially ‘directly or indirectly controlled’ by foreign individuals or entities holding ‘more than one-fourth of the capital stock’ will require FCC approval to determine whether ‘the public interest will be served by the refusal or revocation of such license,’” the letter said. “In carrying out this statutory mandate under the Communications Act, FCC has years-long established processes and procedures for adjudicating broadcast licenses in such situations, most recently updated in 2016.”
Other wealthy media owners have faced scrutiny for potential abuse of their ownership power, such as billionaire Jeff Bezos when he purchased the Washington Post. However, Soros’ influence over so many radio stations may have even more influence over the country than one of the major papers, which Americans usually see as having a certain political leaning.
Soros is one of the most strategic and prolific funders of liberal organizations in the U.S.
“I don’t know why else he would plunk a pile of money this size unless it was to try to have influence over the thinking of Americans,” Gonzalez continued, adding that “this guy is committed to left-wing causes.”
October September Surprises
by American Greatness
An October surprise is usually defined as the well-known (and more often left-wing) tactic of manufacturing or unloading a news story right before voting to surprise a rival without allowing them time sufficiently to respond or recover. Think of the last-minute bombshell disclosure, five days before the 2000 election, that…
Spiciest One-Minute Take On Entire COVID Sham: It Was All About Hysterical Female Energy
by Revolver News
There’s an intriguing argument being made about the COVID pandemic response, and it’s coming from a rather unexpected source—a woman. She suggests, in about one minute, that the entire reaction to the virus was driven by a distinctly female worldview. Honestly, this is the spiciest and best take we’ve ever…
NATO Prepares Mass Evacuation and Rescue Plans as Senior General Warns of World War 3 With Russia
by The Gateway Pundit
NATO is mobilizing its resources and strategic plans in anticipation of a potential all-out war, as articulated by Lieutenant-General Alexander Sollfrank, head of NATO’s logistics command. This urgent preparation underscores a grim reality: the specter of World War III is looming. In these two and a half years of war…
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Get Ready for Another Mail-in Ballot Fiasco
by Daily Signal
Many states are sending out mail-in ballots now for the Nov. 5 presidential election. Yet at the same time that so many more voters are depending on the mail to cast their ballots, the two leading national organizations of election officials wrote the U.S. Postal Service to demand immediate action…
Fact Check: Springfield, Ohio, Claims Haitian Migrants Are ‘Legal.’ Are They?
by Daily Signal
The Rust Belt community of Springfield, Ohio, now has a page on its website dedicated to answering common questions about the flood of illegal aliens, mostly Haitians, who have arrived there in recent years. “The City of Springfield has experienced a surge in our population over the last several years,…
United Nations JUST APPROVED the framework for a One World Government
by Glenn Beck
The United Nations kicked off its 2024 General Assembly by approving a group of game-changing proposals that are practically the framework for a One World Government. Glenn’s co-author for “The Great Reset,” “Dark Future,” and his upcoming book, “Propaganda Wars,” Justin Haskins, joins to break down what this “Pact for…
Reality Check: Has Telegram Bowed to Global Censorship Overlords After Founder’s Arrest in Paris?
by World Tribune
Less than a month after he was arrested by French authorities in Paris, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced the messaging app would bow to Western governments’ requests to provide Telegram users’ personal information. On Sept. 23, Durov said Telegram will provide users’ IP addresses and phone numbers “to relevant political…
‘Evidence Free’: Puberty Blocker Recommendation May Break Law, 21 Ags Warn Pediatrician Group
by Daily Wire
A group of nearly two dozen state attorneys general is warning the American Academy of Pediatrics that it may be breaking the law by continuing to recommend puberty blockers to children who are unhappy with their biological gender despite evidence the drugs cause harm. On Tuesday, the 21 attorneys general,…
FTC: Tech Giants Collecting Massive Amounts of Data From Kids and Teens
by Ava Grace, Natural News
(Natural News)—The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has disclosed in a report that tech giants are collecting massive amounts of data from their young users. The FTC report published Sept. 19 expounded on how social media and streaming companies endanger children and teens who use their platforms. It also showed how “the tech industry’s…
The Vast Pharmaceutical Conspiracy to Silence Dissent Online
by A Midwestern Doctor
Story at a Glance: There has been a coordinated campaign to attack and defame anyone who has spoken out against the COVID-19 response. This has primarily been restricted to social media (e.g., getting people deplatformed) but it has also been weaponized in real life (e.g., getting medical licenses revoked). This…
Busted: Will Media Ignore Coke Censoring ‘President Trump’ but Greenlighting ‘President Harris’?
by Newsbusters
Here’s a story the liberal media won’t cover: Leftist soda giant Coca-Cola seems to have made it clear where its political loyalties lie for the 2024 election, and it may have violated federal election law in the process. When MRC researchers attempted to customize a “Personalized 12 fl oz. Can…
Texas Warns Venezuelan Prison Gang “Activity Happening Across State”
by Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge
(Zero Hedge)—Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took to X on Tuesday. He wasn’t speaking about the need for racial equity in America’s highways or woke activism in the FAA, but he attempted to persuade the internet that “crime is down.” What a ‘weird’ topic for Buttigieg to discuss with X users,…
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