F.C.C. Watchdog Looks Into Changes That Benefited Sinclair

F.C.C. Watchdog Looks Into Changes That Benefited Sinclair
In November, several Democrats in Congress, including Mr. Pallone, called on the inspector general’s office to explore all communications — including personal emails, social media accounts, text messages
and phone calls — between Sinclair and Mr. Pai and his staff.
“The chairman is sticking to his long-held views, and given the strong case for modernizing these rules, it’s not surprising
that those who disagree with him would prefer to do whatever they can to distract from the merits of his proposals.”
A New York Times investigation published in August found
that Mr. Pai and his staff members had met and corresponded with Sinclair executives several times.
opened an investigation into whether Mr. Pai and his aides had improperly pushed for the rule changes
and whether they had timed them to benefit Sinclair, according to Representative Frank Pallone of New Jersey and two congressional aides.
C.C., representing Mr. Pai, said the allegations of favoritism were “baseless.”
“For many years, Chairman Pai has called on the F. C.C.
inspector general, which is a nonpartisan role that reports to the agency
and regularly updates Congress on some investigations, said it would “not comment on the existence or the nonexistence of an investigation.”
Mr. Pai’s office and Sinclair declined to comment.
A few weeks later, Sinclair Broadcasting announced a blockbuster $3.9 billion deal to buy Tribune Media — a deal those new rules made possible.