The House committee is trying to find out how a billionaire was able to acquire 200 radio stations in an illegal way, just before the elections.
The oversight committee of the US House of Representatives has launched an investigation – as reported by the New York Post.
The purpose of the investigation is to determine why the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) expedited approval of a deal that allowed for the acquisition of 200 radio stations by a clear political figure – Democratic mega donor George Soros – for clear political purposes, just weeks before the presidential election.
Despite the loss-making financial operation of the stations owned by Audacy Inc., Soros was able to gain control of the stations with a twist. However, transactions of this magnitude usually require FCC approval, which does not typically happen in just a couple of minutes. But something similar happened in this case.
During a congressional hearing, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr expressed his concerns and told lawmakers that the FCC “is not following the usual process for reviewing transactions” throughout all of this.
Because there was a protocol in place on how someone can get FCC approval if the bidding company has more than 25% foreign ownership.
In connection with the case, the chairman of the oversight committee and a Republican representative sent a letter to the FCC president on Friday, expressing their concerns about the deal.
As they pointed out, Soros now reaches more than 165 million Americans in 40 media markets.
“The majority of the FCC is not only expediting but bypassing an established process to do a favor for George Soros and to allow him to expand his influence to hundreds of radio stations before the November elections.”
Heritage Foundation employee Mike Gonzalez also spoke about it, saying it’s hard to imagine another reason why Soros did all this, “unless it was to manipulate the thinking of Americans and the information they hear.”
All this leads to “Audacy Inc. being controlled in part, ‘directly or indirectly’ by foreign individuals or legal entities holding ‘more than one-quarter of the equity’.”
The paper recalls that an investigation was also launched when billionaire Jeff Bezos purchased the Washington Post, yet Soros with this many radio stations could have even greater influence on the country.
