FCC Chairman Ajit Pai countered President Trump’s attack on doubts he’s expressed over the proposed $3.9 billion merger between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media.
Trump-appointed Pai said Wednesday during an address to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, “I stand by our decision,” though he didn’t refer to Trump by name.
“So sad and unfair that the FCC wouldn’t approve the Sinclair Broadcast merger with Tribune,” Trump tweeted on Tuesday. “This would have been a great and much needed Conservative voice for and of the People.”
So sad and unfair that the FCC wouldn’t approve the Sinclair Broadcast merger with Tribune. This would have been a great and much needed Conservative voice for and of the People. Liberal Fake News NBC and Comcast gets approved, much bigger, but not Sinclair. Disgraceful!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2018
“For every transaction that is before me, I will look at the facts, I will apply the law, and I will reach the judgment that is in the public interest, nothing more, nothing less,” Pai told Rep. Frank Pallone on Wednesday.
Although the FCC hasn’t yet voted to reject the merger, it has issued an order for a review by an administrative law judge, putting the deal in jeopardy and postponing a decision on it for months. Sinclair and Tribune both suffered stock market losses after the FCC’s review order was announced last week, the latter company falling by nearly six percent.
Pai previously voiced doubts about the merger, saying that he had “serious concerns” about its legality.