Blumenthal Probes FCC’s ‘Intrusive Investigations’ Into Media Firms

WASHINGTON, March 17, 2025 – Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., launched a congressional inquiry Thursday into what he described as the Federal Communication Commission’s politically motivated investigations into media broadcasters.

Blumenthal wrote to the Acting Bureau Chiefs of the FCC’s Media and Enforcement Bureaus, Patrick Webre and Erin Boone, raising concerns that the FCC, under Chairman Brendan Carr, has been retaliating against news organizations critical of President Donald Trump. 

“The [FCC’s] recent actions appear to adopt ahistorical interpretations of longstanding legal standards and may be designed to intimidate newsrooms to chill future coverage potentially critical of President Trump,” Blumenthal wrote.