Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr has accused “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert and Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico of intentionally spreading a hoax about an interview segment that CBS was supposed to broadcast.
According to Carr, Colbert claimed during his Monday-night show that new FCC guidance on the equal time rule forced CBS to block Talarico from appearing on his program. Colbert stated: “This was a decision by Colbert, by Talarico to put a hoax out there that they knew the media would run for purposes of Talarico, apparently, scoring political points against Jasmine Crockett.”
CBS clarified that it had provided legal guidance indicating broadcasting the interview could trigger equal time obligations for other candidates running against Talarico in the Texas Senate race. The network stated it presented options for fulfilling those obligations but Colbert’s team chose to air the segment on YouTube instead.
Carr emphasized he only learned about this issue after checking social media, and he asserted: “Not only was that not true [that the FCC refused to air it], but the subsequent claim that CBS refused to air it was also proved to be a hoax.” He further alleged Colbert knowingly designed the deception to mislead legacy media.
Separately, Carr noted ABC’s “The View” is under investigation by the FCC for claiming exemption from the equal time rule. The show argues it qualifies as a “bona fide” news program, but Carr stated: “The View” has not made the required case to the FCC and enforcement actions are being taken.
