Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas is disputing CBS explanation for pulling a Late Night with Stephen Colbert segment featuring her primary opponent, saying she was never offered equal airtime despite the networks apparent concern over federal election rules.
According to the Daily Caller, CBS chose not to broadcast Colberts interview with Democratic Texas state Rep. James Talarico on Monday, citing worries that airing the segment might run afoul of the Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) equal time rule, which is designed to prevent broadcasters from favoring one candidate over another in the same race.
That decision, if taken at face value, would have obligated the network to extend a comparable invitation to Crockett, who is running against Talarico in a Senate primary, yet she told MSNBCs Morning Joe that no such offer was ever made before or after the taping.
No, Ive not been invited on Colbert prior to his interview nor post his interview, Crockett said, directly contradicting the premise that CBS was earnestly attempting to comply with equal time requirements. Obviously, Ive done Colbert twice in the past. And so there were questions that people had about whether or not basically equal time, so to speak, had been offered to me in order to try to avoid Brendan Carr and his misinterpretation or his reinterpretation of the rules. The only information that I got was after this debacle took place, I did receive a phone call from the parent company, from a representative for the parent company that basically saidthey did not tell them they couldnt air it.
Crockett added that the network was merely advised to ensure balance if it chose to air the Talarico segment, not ordered to suppress it altogether. They just said, if you air it, just make sure that you offer the representative equal time, Crockett continued. Now, obviously, I wasnt engaged in that conversation, so I cannot confirm the veracity of any statements. But I can confirm that I had never been asked to go on as it relates to kind of talking about the Senate race.
Colbert and Talarico publicly implied that FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr was to blame, suggesting the interview was effectively censored after Carr warned broadcasters in a Jan. 21 letter that their long-standing exemptions from strict equal time enforcement might not hold in future races. CBS News later acknowledged that regulators had not barred the segment, conceding only that they had been cautioned the interview could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for Talaricos opponents.
Talarico quickly capitalized on the controversy, announcing Wednesday that his campaign hauled in $2.5 million in just 24 hours after CBS shelved the appearance. Even as the facts undercut his narrative, he continued to falsely claim that the FCC had banned the interview, turning a regulatory guidance letter into a fundraising bonanza.
At a press conference the same day, Carr made clear he saw the episode as a media-driven spectacle rather than a case of government overreach. A Democrat candidate who understood the way that the news media works and took advantage of all of your prior conceptions to run a hoax apparently for the purpose of raising money and getting clicks, Carr said. And apparently the news media played right into it.
The FCC has since opened a separate investigation into ABCs The View over a possible equal time violation tied to another Talarico appearance, after Disney-owned ABC failed to file the required paperwork documenting opposing candidates access. The episode underscores how liberal-leaning outlets, quick to accuse conservatives and President Trump of threatening democracy, are themselves struggling to follow basic election fairness rules while some Democratic candidates appear eager to weaponize that confusion for cash and clicks.
Login