The Hill reports:
A Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner has claimed that Vice President Harris’s recent appearance on “Saturday Night Live” violates the “equal time” rule.
“This is a clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC’s Equal Time rule,” Commissioner Brendan Carr posted on the social platform X Saturday in response to a post from The Associated Press about Harris being on the show that night.
“The purpose of the rule is to avoid exactly this type of biased and partisan conduct – a licensed broadcaster using the public airwaves to exert its influence for one candidate on the eve of an election. Unless the broadcaster offered Equal Time to other qualifying campaigns,” Carr, a Trump appointee, continued.
Read the full article.
Carr first appeared here in 2022 when he supported Trump’s demand to ban TikTok. Trump famously reversed on banning TikTok once he found out that GOP megadonor Jeffrey Yass holds a $15 billion stake in the platform.
Carr has accused Rep. Adam Schiff of supposedly running a “secret and partisan surveillance machine.” He has also accused the World Health Organization of “beclowning itself” with COVID mitigation advance.
In 2020, Carr told Fox News host Lou Dobbs that “far-left” social media platforms had “hopped from hoax to hoax to hoax” in attacks on Trump.
Carr is a vehement opponent of Net Neutrality and opposed efforts to block Elon Musk from purchasing Twitter.
Last year Carr wrote a full chapter in the Heritage Foundation’s book in support of Project 2025.
This is a clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC’s Equal Time rule.
The purpose of the rule is to avoid exactly this type of biased and partisan conduct – a licensed broadcaster using the public airwaves to exert its influence for one candidate on the eve of an election.… https://t.co/LliZF0po9t
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) November 3, 2024
Federal law requires that broadcasters provide comparable time and placement to all legally qualified candidates when the Equal Time rule is triggered.
With only days before the election, NBC appears to have structured this appearance in a way that evades these requirements.… pic.twitter.com/PjrgWCqsgy
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) November 3, 2024
Just weeks ago, SNL’s Lorne Michaels said that they *would not* be bringing any of the candidates on due to election and equal time laws:
“‘You can’t bring the actual people who are running on because of election laws and the equal time provisions,’ Michaels said.” pic.twitter.com/xtfnNFXdfr
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) November 3, 2024
I would hope my Commission colleagues would agree with me that this requires FCC action. FCC action here would require action by the FCC Chair.
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) November 3, 2024