A watchdog within the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is probing the panel’s Chairman, Ajit Pai.
David Hunt, the agency’s Inspector General, confirmed the investigation to Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), who had requested action following a series of decisions by Pai that directly benefited Sinclair Broadcast Group—the nation’s largest television broadcaster.
“For months I have been trying to get to the bottom of the allegations about Chairman Pai’s relationship with Sinclair Broadcasting,” Pallone said in a statement Thursday.
“I am grateful to the FCC’s Inspector General that he has decided to take up this important investigation,” the lawmaker added.
Under Pai’s leadersip, the FCC has taken several steps to boost Sinclair’s business interests. Specifically, the panel has removed impediments to the company’s plans to purchase Tribune Media; an acquisition that would give the broadcaster access to roughly three-quarters of US households.
Pai pushed a repeal of the Main Studio Rule, preventing media consolidation by requiring broadcasters to have physical studios in the areas they are licensed. He also moved the Commission to pass new rules that benefited Sinclair’s technology patents.
And last April, two weeks before Sinclair announced their plans to purchase Tribune, the FCC tweaked the UHF discount, allowing one company to reach up to 78 percent of American homes, shattering previous ownership caps.
The series of decisions prompted a fellow member of the FCC, Democratic commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, to openly allege corruption between Pai and Sinclair.
“I think it’s something that merits investigation,” she told the House Energy and Commerce Committee during a hearing last October.
“If you look at the series of media policy decisions that has been made by this commission, they all seem to serve Sinclair Broadcasting’s business plans,” Rosenworcel added.
The New York Times reported last August that Pai and his staff met with Sinclair executives on several occasions.
The Sinclair-Tribune merger is still under review by the FCC and the Department of Justice.
