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FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Is Under Investigation Over $3.9 Billion Media Deal

Posted by BeauHD on from the shady-business-deals dept.

According to a report in The New York Times (Warning: source may be paywalled), Ajit Pai and the FCC approved a set of rules in 2017 to allow television broadcasters to increase the number of stations they own. Weeks after the rules were approved, Sinclair Broadcasting announced a $3.9 billion deal to buy Tribune Media. PC Gamer reports: The deal was made possible by the new set of rules, which subsequently raised some eyebrows. Notably, the FCC's inspector general is reportedly investigating if Pai and his aides abused their position by pushing for the rule changes that would make the deal possible, and timing them to benefit Sinclair. The extent of the investigation is not clear, nor is how long it will take. However, it does bring up the question of whether Pai had coordinated with Sinclair, and it could force him to publicly address the topic, which he hasn't really done up to this point.

Legislators first pushed for an investigation into this matter last November. At the time, a spokesman for the FCC representing Pai called the allegations "baseless" and alluded to it being a partisan play by those who oppose the chairman. "For many years, Chairman Pai has called on the FCC to update its media ownership regulations," the FCC spokesman said. "The chairman is sticking to his long-held views, and given the strong case for modernizing these rules, it's not surprising that those who disagree with him would prefer to do whatever they can to distract from the merits of his proposals."

63 of 145 comments (clear)

  1. It would be nice... by sgage · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ... to see Ajit Pai in an orange jumpsuit being led off to prison in handcuffs. Maybe that would wipe the stupd shit-eating grin off his face. He is an arrogant sociopathic twat, and I would love to see justice served. But I don't expect to.

    1. Re:It would be nice... by crunchygranola · · Score: 4, Informative

      It is not the current name of a condition used for diagnosis today because it is split into two more specific conditions: Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) and Dissocial Personality Disorder (DPD). So it the condition is not imaginary nor did it disappear, it is simply not how it is currently classified for the purposes of medical diagnosis.

      But unless you are psychologist or a psychiatrist, it is a perfectly reasonable and well understood term for the lay public to use.

      --
      Second class citizen of the New Gilded Age
    2. Re:It would be nice... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      verbal shorthand for "socially-adept psychopath" as opposed to the garden variety which are more impulsive, violent and likely to be caught

    3. Re:It would be nice... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      As a result of one or two giant corporations being allowed to own 99.99% of all AM and FM radio stations, the AM and FM radio bands have become nothing but wasted spectrum at this point. The AM band is wall-to-wall Rush Limbaugh clones (YYYYYYUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKK!!!!!!!!), and Only on the very few independent FM stations left is any new and original music heard. Looks like TV stations are gonna go the same way.

      Ijit Pai is just another corporate shill...doing whatever his masters order him to. Repealing Net Neutrality rules is an example...just what the biggest ISPs want...to let them rape their customers even worse than they already do!

      Anyone familiar with radio and TV station licenses knows that radio and TV stations are licensed to serve the public interest. Well, few if any of them serve the public interest any more, so maybe all of their licenses need to be revoked!

    4. Re:It would be nice... by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      Developing trend is that psychopaths are born and the various forms of sociopaths are made, most often by psychopaths the source of the abuse that turns norms into various anti-social disorders. Get rid of the psychopaths and you will have a whole lot less people suffering from social disorders as a result of interactions with psychopaths. Technically as it is genetic, you can nip the whole problem in the bud or is that womb.

      Nobody likes a fuckup and Ajit made a huge mess of mass internet censorship, even though he was the only one foolish to stick his neck out there, his supporters will be all to willing to cut it now that he has failed. Consider the next election, fire Ajit to look good, see we got rid of him, or have him as an anchor around their election neck, poster of Ajit at every polling booth as a meme, you know, stealing yours internets, invading your living room, allowing the corporations to watch you masturbate, Ajit strangleband Pai (that dude will cost millions of votes or gain thousands if they dump him for failing so spectacularly).

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    5. Re:It would be nice... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      In all my west Texas years as a conservative liberal, I have never thought of anyone from India as being a "raghead". A raghead is from Pakistan. So take your Social Justice lies back to the far-right nazi party.

    6. Re:It would be nice... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Everyone knows Ajit has his mouth wrapped around the cock of every major telecom company in the country and is sucking harder than a Hoover vacuum cleaner, but it's a matter of PROVING it in a strict legal sense sadly. I doubt they will be able to do that, and even if they do, it'd probably be up to the DOJ to actually prosecute it, and... yeah. Best case scenario is he would resign to "spend more time with his family" or some other euphemism for "shitcanned outta there!" And the way things are going with this administration, they'd probably find someone who has made it their mission in life to utterly destroy the FCC to run it, and we'd look back fondly at the days of Ajit Pai.

    7. Re:It would be nice... by BlueStrat · · Score: 2, Interesting

      ... to see Ajit Pai in an orange jumpsuit being led off to prison in handcuffs. Maybe that would wipe the stupd shit-eating grin off his face. He is an arrogant sociopathic twat, and I would love to see justice served. But I don't expect to.

      Nice how you can be so certain of a crime having been committed with only some allegations and a fraction of the facts to go on.

      It couldn't be that, no matter the timing of this rule change or the enactment of any similar change in regulation, there would be major players who jump at the chance to take actions the old rules prevented. Right? That's just too simple and logical. It *must* be some criminal shenanigans if it's someone on the "other side" doing something you disagree with.

      Especially if that guy knows a guy who knows a guy whose granddaughter once attended a corporate party for employees where her boyfriend worked. He may as well be carrying bags of money with corporate logos into his office.

      If someone broke the law I'd like to see them pay the price, but this smells too much like witch-hunting and the Spanish Inquisition.

      Here's a radical idea; How about waiting for facts before calling for somebody's head on a pike just because you disagree politically? I know, that's crazy-talk, but give it a try sometime. Might start a trend that ends up saving *your* bacon down the road.

      Or, not.

      Strat

      --
      Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
    8. Re: It would be nice... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Russian bots on both sides. Make sure both sides hate each other, says Putin.

    9. Re:It would be nice... by thegreatbob · · Score: 1

      Was thinking more of Kirby, and not necessarily the vacuum cleaners...

      --
      There is no XUL, only WebExtensions...
    10. Re: It would be nice... by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      Sociopathy is well defined and is a word in the dictionary. Trying to seem smart while being clueless and accusing others of trying to seem smart simply for using a well defined and in this case accurate word makes you look like the Dotard.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    11. Re:It would be nice... by Gr8Apes · · Score: 2

      Or, not.

      Strat

      We're calling for his head for abdicating his responsibilities to regulate broadcasters for the good of the people. Instead, every step he's taken has been to de-regulate corporations so they can maximize their profits. Prove me wrong with actual facts if you disagree.

      To go back to the case for illegality, it does seem given his career that there's just a little payback going on there, somewhere. There's no way someone would be so corporate leaning and anti-consumer without some profit attached for him somewhere, we just need to find them. Unfortunately, I'll bet it is as future 7 figure jobs on multiple corporate boards as a reward, to which we'll just have to nod in knowing acceptance with shit-all we can do about it.

      --
      The cesspool just got a check and balance.
    12. Re:It would be nice... by Gr8Apes · · Score: 1

      I was against Wheeler until he finally did the unexpected and got some pro-consumer regulations going. To say I was shocked by Wheeler's actions would be a massive understatement.

      Glad you're so blindly partisan that a single statement immediately puts someone on your "against me" list. Typical Trump cultist. FYI: I can dislike more than 1 candidate, and just because I really dislike one doesn't mean I like the other.

      --
      The cesspool just got a check and balance.
    13. Re:It would be nice... by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      "sociopath" is the wrong word.
      Suggested words include: greedy, self-serving, avaricious, weasely, insincere, profiteering, dishonest, double-dealing, unethical, unscrupulous, unconscionable, sellout, treacherous, betrayer, ...

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    14. Re:It would be nice... by Gr8Apes · · Score: 1

      Your first mistake is believing that anything Wheeler did was "pro consumer". Wheeler didn't have a change of heart, you simply fail to understand how what you think was good, was actually bad for citizens.

      He made ISPs subject to Title II in support of Net Neutrality. How was that not pro consumer?

      Typical Trump cultist.

      There's your second mistake. I didn't vote for Trump.

      Simple solution to that perception - don't sound like one.

      That said, Killary was the worst pick the Democratic Party could have made and that's really saying something. Everyone knows she's corrupt as fuck, likely responsible for killings, and a borderline sociopath, even many people on the Left. We got Trump because Democrats failed to give us anyone better because the Clintons held too much Democratic Party power, simple as that. The Republicans/Trump didn't win, the Democratic Party lost.

      Several things I agree with - the Republicans definitely didn't win, and the Democrats lost precisely because they put up a virtually unelectable candidate with tons of baggage (legit or not doesn't matter, perception does) The Republicans could have easily put up any one of at least 10 of the final 16 contenders and won handily. Instead they put up Trump to see which candidate could be hated more, I guess. The only surprising thing to me is how large a contingent of Trump voters continue to cut off their noses to spite their faces. It's shocking there's that much short-sighted hatred going on.

      I'll bet a lot of both Democrats and Republicans regret not having a President Cruz about now.

      I guess there might be some people that hate themselves and their families more than Trump voters. I haven't seen any. It'll be interesting if Cruz retains his seat this coming election, his is being contested.

      --
      The cesspool just got a check and balance.
    15. Re:It would be nice... by doesnothingwell · · Score: 1

      Nothing sucks like an Electrolux, I believe it was their ad slogan long ago. Except maybe Microsoft.

      --
      They can have my command prompt when they pry it from my cold dead fingers.
    16. Re: It would be nice... by lsatenstein · · Score: 1

      Is fraud and fingers in the pie his modus operandi?

      --
      Leslie Satenstein Montreal Quebec Canada
  2. In other news... by ZorinLynx · · Score: 5, Funny

    The fox has been put in charge of investigating missing chickens. The chickens have not been seen since last week and the fox, who has been guarding the henhouse for a month now, has promised to get to the bottom of this.

    "I won't sleep until I find out what happened to those delicious chickens," he said, his breath smelling strongly of Listerine.

    1. Re:In other news... by sessamoid · · Score: 5, Informative

      Obama included him as one of the FCC commissioners largely to appease Republican Mitch McConnell who pushed for his appointment, IIRC, but he was NOT made chairman. He's McConnell's dog, and clearly a Republican tool.

      --
      "No, no, no. Don't tug on that. You never know what it might be attached to."
    2. Re:In other news... by orgelspieler · · Score: 1, Interesting

      I don't know that Obama made any good decisions regarding the FCC. Just look at Meredith Baker and Tom Wheeler. Two industry stooges of the worst kind. I have no idea why Obama would have tried to appease anybody, least of all McConnell. That bastard literally said, "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president."

      One more thing I don't get: Why do Republicans think that by saying Obama did it, that somehow makes it not Donald's fault when the problem isn't fixed, or gets made worse? It's not like he hasn't had time, or the congress at his disposal. He has been in office for one year, and the only thing he's succeeded at is getting rich people like me lower taxes, and deporting people who have been pillars of their communities for decades.

    3. Re:In other news... by orgelspieler · · Score: 1

      You may be right about Wheeler; he made the right call in the end. I guess that's why I got marked as flamebait. But I remember as recently as 2014 he was saying that fast lanes were a good thing. Kinda made me have my doubts. He also disregarded a lot of the traditional firewalls between the FCC and WH (or at least the appearance thereof). Granted, this sort of blurring the lines between executive and independent agencies had been getting more common, especially during W's reign. It's so quaint, the sorts of things that were shocking to us even three or four years ago.

      That being said, the Baker thing seemed pretty fishy. Four months is not a lot of time to wait between approving a major merger and working for said company.

  3. They'll pay a fine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    No one ever goes to jail. This country is so fucking corrupt.

    1. Re:They'll pay a fine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      True, but to put it in perspective, there are only a tiny handful of countries less corrupt, and another tiny handful which are about the same as the US. The vast majority of the world is far, far worse.

    2. Re:They'll pay a fine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The US scores a shitty 74 on the corruption perception index and the last score was completed for 2016 before the orange turd took office so it will be plummeting probably out of the top 50 by the end of 2018.

      That score is good for 18th place. Denmark scores a 90. So no, there are a fair number of countries with far less corruption than the US.

      numbnuts.

    3. Re:They'll pay a fine by Muros · · Score: 1

      The US scores a shitty 74 on the corruption perception index and the last score was completed for 2016 before the orange turd took office so it will be plummeting probably out of the top 50 by the end of 2018.

      That score is good for 18th place. Denmark scores a 90. So no, there are a fair number of countries with far less corruption than the US.

      numbnuts.

      It is a perception index, not an actual corrpution index, so while the positions of countries on the list relative to each other may well reflect reality, the scores of countries might not. Besides, over 50% of the countries on that list got half or less of the USA's score.

  4. Swamp Thing by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Serious question: Did Donald Trump appoint anyone who isn't corrupt, tied to neo-nazis or doesn't beat women? I mean, you'd think that by accident he'd have chosen at least one person for some department who isn't crooked or in some other manner fucked up. There's been so much turnover in the administration, at some point he will run out of shitty people to appoint.

    If any of you know of any member of the current administration who doesn't have the stink of corruption on them, could you please list them? I'll wait here. I really want to be proven wrong, because otherwise I'd have to accept Donald Trump as the world's greatest supervillain, and that would make me have to give him some grudging respect.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
    1. Re:Swamp Thing by sgage · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Trump drained the swamp alright - he drained it right into his administration. What a scam his whole campaign turns out to be - surprise surprise!

    2. Re:Swamp Thing by haruchai · · Score: 1

      "Serious question: Did Donald Trump appoint anyone who isn't corrupt, tied to neo-nazis or doesn't beat women? I mean, you'd think that by accident he'd have chosen at least one person for some department who isn't crooked or in some other manner fucked up. There's been so much turnover in the administration, at some point he will run out of shitty people to appoint"

      Rod Rosenstein? He did appoint Bob Mueller to head the investigation into Russian electoral interference which has caused Trump's orange symbiont to stand on end

      --
      Pain is merely failure leaving the body
    3. Re: Swamp Thing by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Informative

      The Ambassador to El Salvador.

      Man is squeaky clean.

      He was appointed by Obama in 2015.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    4. Re:Swamp Thing by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Rod Rosenstein? He did appoint Bob Mueller to head the investigation into Russian electoral interference which has caused Trump's orange symbiont to stand on end

      You make a good point. It would be better if Trump hasn't been trying to fire Rosenstein for the past six months, but OK, I'll take it.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    5. Re:Swamp Thing by PopeRatzo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Pai was at the FCC before Trump.

      Trump made him the chairman of the FCC, so he gets to set the agenda on all rules and regs.

      Obama was required by convention to appoint a certain number of Republican jackoffs, but as long as they were safely in the minority, it wasn't a problem.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    6. Re:Swamp Thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      As a former military grunt, you don't get the nickname "Mad Dog" by being a nice guy and certainly not "military action as a last resort".

    7. Re: Swamp Thing by pots · · Score: 2

      I actually bothered to look this up, because 1) Like the parent, I'm wondering if it's possible for Trump to do something competent by accident at least. and 2) I believe that most of our experienced diplomats have been removed since Trump took office and replaced by... no one. Unless things have changed.

      But no, as it turns out the ambassador to El Salvador is a woman appointed by Obama. At least we still have an ambassador to El Salvador.

    8. Re:Swamp Thing by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 2

      Sure, there seem to be quite a few:

      Ben Carson: I have no reason to think he's corrupt or beats women, and he certainly isn't tied to neo-nazis. Now, whether he's competent in his current position, or any political position, is a different question.

      Rex Tillerson: He seems to be apathetic about his job, and not having fun, but he doesn't seem corrupt. Does have some high level ties to Russia in the past, but I'm not sure we've seen it effect his performance..

      Jim Mattis: Other than getting involved in Theranos (that blood testing startup that was shut down for being a scam) he seems fine. And for all I know, he was taken in by the scam.

      Nikki Haley: I don't actually have anything to add here.

      I'm happy to keep going (btw, does Pence count as an appointment?). But I think really you want to clarify your criteria.

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    9. Re:Swamp Thing by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      . I think though he was appointed because the republican congress would not pass who he really wanted. So this was the best he could get through.

      By law, Obama had to appoint a Republican. And by tradition, the Congressional leaders of the opposite party give the President the name of who he will appoint for those "reserved for the opposition" spots.

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    10. Re:Swamp Thing by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Ben Carson...

      You make me feel a little better. I'll give you Mattis, although we thought the same thing about Kelly until he showed his true nature. Pence, Haley and Tillerson do not qualify.

      But at least I can sleep more soundly knowing that the President isn't an evil genius, just sort of a middling incompetent crook.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    11. Re: Swamp Thing by DarkVader · · Score: 1

      And is female.

    12. Re:Swamp Thing by PopeRatzo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      James Mattis (Secretary of Defense) is I think the only appointee in the entire administration that is worth half a damn.

      I love the fact that the one Trump appointee that can be pointed at as a competent, honest and decent person has the nickname, "Mad Dog".

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    13. Re:Swamp Thing by Cederic · · Score: 1

      By law, Obama had to appoint a Republican.

      Wait, your fucked up two party state is enforced by law?

    14. Re:Swamp Thing by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      You don't get it, he has to hire them first so that he can fire them, otherwise how will he drain the swamp!?

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    15. Re: Swamp Thing by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      And yet he was appointed as chairman by the Don-tard.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    16. Re: Swamp Thing by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      Clearly, you are not a genius, evil or otherwise.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    17. Re:Swamp Thing by Green+Mountain+Bot · · Score: 1

      Outside of Mattis, not a one.

    18. Re:Swamp Thing by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      Yup. Our voting system alone is shown to devolve to a 2 party state over a couple successive operations mathematically. But we baked it into a bunch of laws. In fairness, this was done in response to worries that in a situation like we currently have (Republicans controlling the entire federal government) that they would pack, say the Federal Election Commission, and suddenly only fine Democrats for violations leading to permanent Republican control. I mean, look at the gerrymandering done at the state level, where one party does control it. (Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Maryland if you want a Democratic example).

      It's not as good as having a vibrant third party, but it is better than having only one party.

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    19. Re:Swamp Thing by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Breaking news:

      http://abcnews.go.com/Politics...

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    20. Re:Swamp Thing by q4Fry · · Score: 1

      You've only now come to that conclusion? I've thought all along that Trump is a pompous narcissist out to make a buck. Even if he lost the election, he can trade on the speaking circuit for the rest of his life.

      The man is practically the caricature of someone in it for Money, Power, and Fame. But now he's discovered that power is delegated, not wielded; that fame is one wrong move from infamy; and that the money has to wait until he's no longer President.

      Does any evil genius "know all the best words?" Please.

    21. Re:Swamp Thing by Trailer+Trash · · Score: 1

      Pai was at the FCC before Trump.

      Trump made him the chairman of the FCC, so he gets to set the agenda on all rules and regs.

      True, but he wasn't appointed to the commission by Trump.

      --
      Do you have ESP?
    22. Re:Swamp Thing by segwonk · · Score: 1

      I heard this question raised on the (excellent) podcast Deep State Radio. Several of the guests ticked through the various secretaries and how awful they all were - except for Nikki Haley. She seems to have not embarrassed herself too bad yet.

      --
      - ------ Go 'til ya know.
  5. Club Fed's are not like that by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    Club Fed's are not like that

  6. I don't see a problem by bogie · · Score: 5, Funny

    If we had one single company that owned all the TV stations all the magazines all the radio stations and all the Internet infrastructure i'm sure we would get better customer service and the pricing would probably be better too. Why do liberals keep wanting to harm corporations who are just trying to innovate?

    --
    If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
    1. Re:I don't see a problem by smooth+wombat · · Score: 2

      You jest, but remember, it was Republican Senator Owen Brewster who pushed for legislation that would give Pan Am the single-carrier international air monopoly for the U.S..

      In the movie The Aviator, Brewster, played by Alan Alda, makes the claim that a single carrier would be able to provide better service to fliers than could multiple carriers.

      --
      We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
    2. Re:I don't see a problem by Zxern · · Score: 1

      At the rate their going now, he might be proven right in the end. Unless you're a first class passenger anyway.

  7. What's the difference, politican or criminal? by bobstreo · · Score: 2

    Getting caught publicly.

    Couldn't happen to a more deserving person.

    1. Re:What's the difference, politican or criminal? by Green+Mountain+Bot · · Score: 1

      A criminal breaks the law to get what he wants. A politician makes the law to get what he wants.

  8. hard to call by epine · · Score: 1

    On one side, too good to be true. On the other side, Pai's unapologetic modus operandi.

    I'm 50-50 whether this story pans out.

  9. Just Like They "Updated" Glass-Steagall by crunchygranola · · Score: 1

    It appears that it means to "gut" or "abolish" regulations.

    --
    Second class citizen of the New Gilded Age
  10. Modernizing? by omnichad · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yeah, "modernizing" a rule means forgetting what corruption led up to making the rules in the first place. Forget learning from past mistakes - corporations are better now. Less evil.

  11. No Trump did by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Head of the FCC Ajit was appointed by Trump. You trying to mislead people is simply confirmation of the embarrasing role of Ajit in these dodgy dealings.

  12. Hopefully by sheph · · Score: 1

    All things are possible when you own a politician. Ajit Pai has been owned for a long time. Everyone knows it. Hopefully he gets busted down a bit along with all who participated.

    --
    I don't believe in karma, I just call it like I see it.
  13. Re:Another commie post on slashdot by Green+Mountain+Bot · · Score: 1

    Good point. But enough half measures. Let's remove the rules against theft, burglary, assault, rape, murder, fraud, and graft while we're at it. And investigate the corrupt people who put those rules in place!

  14. Couldn't have happened... by Subm · · Score: 1

    Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

  15. Oh please by Rujiel · · Score: 1

    As if someone in a government seat wouldn't be pushing for corporate rights so that he can get a handie from those corporations when he leaves the public sector. So Ajit Pai is a saint? What else should we add to your fantasy?

  16. If what Wheeler did wasn't pro-consumer by Rujiel · · Score: 1

    ..then why are telecos resisting it tooth and nail, undoing it as soon as possible? Are you going to tell me now that the telecos' will is pro consumer, in comparison?