Letter follows refusal by Dem FCC Commissioners to abide by commitments made in sworn testimony to Congress

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today sent letters to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington in the wake of their Democrat colleagues’ refusal to abide by their commitments to Congress with respect to George Soros’s takeover of Audacy’s nationwide radio network. Consistent with longstanding FCC precedent, Ranking Member Cruz asked Commissioners Carr and Simington to insist that the transaction be reviewed by the full Commission, including any order granting a waiver of the FCC’s foreign ownership rules to transfer Audacy’s broadcast licenses to the reorganized Soros-backed entity.

In letters to FCC Democrat Commissioners Anna Gomez and Geoffrey Starks last month, Ranking Member Cruz argued that any order transferring Audacy’s licenses is a matter of significant public interest that should be vetted and voted on by the full Commission, not rubber-stamped by unaccountable bureaucrats acting under the guise of delegated authority. Considering the size of the transaction (Audacy is the second-largest owner of broadcast stations in the nation, with 225 stations in 46 markets), the applicants’ own admission that foreign entities will hold substantial ownership interests in these hundreds of stations in excess of limits specified in federal law, and the deal’s timing in the final run-up to the presidential election, Ranking Member Cruz has contended that an open and transparent Commission-level vote is necessary to protect the FCC’s accountability to the American public.

Despite Commissioners Gomez and Starks’s respective commitments to Congress that significant transactions would be vetted by the full Commission, both commissioners dodged Ranking Member Cruz’s basic procedural request that they insist on a Commission-level vote and indicated they were eager to avoid accountability and allow the matter to be resolved by bureaucratic fiat at the will of FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. According to Ranking Member Cruz, this would amount to a repeat of the Commission’s unprecedented procedural abuse in the Standard General-TEGNA transaction, in which the Chairwoman quashed the deal through a bureau-level order.

In the letter to Commissioners Carr and Simington, Sen. Cruz wrote:

“On July 9, 2024, I sent letters to your colleagues, Commissioners Starks and Gomez, urging them to honor their commitments to Congress and insist that any approval of George Soros’s takeover of Audacy’s nationwide radio network be subject to a vote of the full Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Considering the large number of stations involved, the presence of foreign ownership interests in excess of limits specified in federal law, and the deal’s timing in the final run-up to the Presidential election, I argued that a thorough vetting by the full Commission was both an expected duty of the officeholder and necessary to protect the interests of the American public. 

"Despite Commissioner Gomez’s sworn testimony that ‘commissioners should vote on matters of significant public interest,’ and Commissioner Starks’s commitment that he was ‘eager to work with me’ in ensuring that significant transactions are voted on by the full Commission, both commissioners refused to follow through on the promises they made to Congress and dodged my basic procedural request. Instead, your Democratic colleagues indicated they were eager to avoid accountability by letting faceless, unelected bureaucrats who were not accountable to the public or the Senate rubber-stamp the deal under the guise of delegated authority. 

“In other words, despite their commitments to Congress, both Commissioners Starks and Gomez appear willing to turn a blind eye to Chairwoman Rosenworcel’s pattern of abusing delegated authority. This was—seen most starkly in the Commission’s mishandling of the Standard General-TEGNA transaction, where instead of holding an open and transparent Commission-level vote, the Chairwoman violated FCC precedent and quashed the deal through a bureau-level order.

“In your opinion, were your colleagues’ responses to my request appropriate?  Or are you instead of the view that any transfer of Audacy’s licenses requires comprehensive vetting by the full Commission? I ask that you respond in writing by August 23, 2024, including with the same commitment I requested from your colleagues: to insist that the transaction be reviewed by the full Commission, including any order granting a waiver of the FCC’s foreign ownership rules to transfer Audacy’s broadcast licenses to the reorganized Soros-backed entity.”

BACKGROUND:

Under Audacy’s Chapter 11 reorganization plan, Soros Fund Management is poised to become the largest shareholder in the company after it emerges from bankruptcy. In order to emerge from bankruptcy, Audacy has asked the FCC for approval to transfer Audacy’s broadcast licenses to the reorganized company. Since the reorganized company would exceed statutory foreign ownership limits (providing that no radio station license may be held by any corporation that exceeds 25 percent foreign ownership), Audacy has asked the FCC to waive the foreign ownership restriction to allow the transaction to proceed, get the keys to the stations now, and punt the FCC’s vetting of their foreign interest holders until a later date.

In an April 2024 response to inquiries from members of Congress regarding the transaction, Chairwoman Rosenworcel indicated that “Bureau staff will review the record and decide if the transfer is in the public interest pursuant to Section 310(d) of the Communications Act.” This suggests that the Chairwoman is not planning to hold a full Commission vote prior to reassigning Audacy’s licenses and will instead direct the Media Bureau to issue an order under the guise of delegated authority. 

Sen. Cruz’s letters to Commissioners Carr and Simington are available HERE and HERE.

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