Chairman Pai on Inspector General Report Concluding No Favoritism Toward Sinclair

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai issued the following statement regarding the Office of Inspector General’s independent report, which found no evidence or suggestion of impropriety, unscrupulous behavior, or favoritism towards Sinclair. Moreover, the Office of the Inspector General found no lack of impartiality related to the proposed Sinclair-Tribune Merger:

“I’m pleased that the Office of Inspector General has concluded that there was ‘no evidence, nor even the suggestion, of impropriety, unscrupulous behavior, favoritism towards Sinclair, or lack of impartiality related to the proposed Sinclair-Tribune Merger.’ I have called on the FCC for many years to update its outdated media ownership regulations to match the realities of the modern marketplace. As I said when this investigation was first announced, the suggestion that I favored any one company was absurd, and today’s report proves that Capitol Hill Democrats’ politically-motivated accusations were entirely baseless.”