FCC Commissioner Gomez Statement on CBS Corporate Capitulation

Key Quotes

“Another troubling example of corporate capitulation in the face of this Administration’s broader campaign to censor and control speech.”

“The FCC has no lawful authority to pressure broadcasters for political purposes or to create a climate that chills free expression.”

“CBS is fully protected under the First Amendment to determine what interviews it airs, which makes its decision to yield to political pressure all the more disappointing.”

Significance

As the lone Democrat on the five-member FCC, Gomez’s statement represented the only institutional dissent within the commission. Her use of the phrase “corporate capitulation” directly contradicted CBS’s framing that the decision was voluntary — and aligned with Colbert’s characterization of being told “in no uncertain terms” that the interview could not air.