In part, Senator Cotton wrote:

“The FCC’s approval process for large acquisitions of radio stations generally takes a year or more to complete and is subject to a national-security review if foreign-company ownership exceeds 25 percent. In this case, however, the FCC reportedly attempted to approve the SFM transaction with only 48 hours’ notice. Reports also indicate that no other commissioners aside from you were invited to opine on the issue before staff handled it on the Commission’s behalf. Moreover, SFM requested to bypass the traditional national-security review, despite raising $400 million for the purchase with foreign investments.”

Full text of the letter may be found here and below.

October 10, 2024

Jessica Rosenworcel 

Chairwoman 

Federal Communications Commission 

45 L Street NE

Washington, DC 20554

Dear Chairwoman Rosenworcel, 

I write regarding the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) decision to expedite Soros Fund Management’s (SFM) purchase of more than two hundred radio stations just weeks before a critical presidential election.

The FCC’s approval process for large acquisitions of radio stations generally takes a year or more to complete and is subject to a national-security review if foreign-company ownership exceeds 25 percent. In this case, however, the FCC reportedly attempted to approve the SFM transaction with only 48 hours’ notice. Reports also indicate that no other commissioners aside from you were invited to opine on the issue before staff handled it on the Commission’s behalf. Moreover, SFM requested to bypass the traditional national-security review, despite raising $400 million for the purchase with foreign investments.

This decision affects over 165 million monthly listeners on Audacy—a network that includes conservative programming like Sean Hannity, Dana Loesch, Mark Levin, Glenn Beck, and Erick Erickson. It would be naive to think the timing is coincidental, or that a Soros-funded network would impartially manage conservative talk shows in the weeks before the election. The FCC’s rushed approval of SFM’s purchase raises significant concerns about the FCC’s process, its political impartiality, and the risks to our national security.

I urge the FCC to use its traditional process outlined by Section 310 of the Communications Act. Accordingly, please respond to the below questions by ___

1. Under existing FCC rules, foreign-company ownership of U.S. radio stations should not exceed 25 percent. Did SFM request to bypass the national-security evaluation? If so, did you approve it?
2. What other exceptions to the existing rule regarding foreign-ownership of U.S. radio stations have occurred during your tenure as Chairwoman?
3. Who was invited to opine on SFM’s purchase of Audacy?
4. What efforts were made to undergo a legitimate public-interest analysis?

Sincerely,

Tom Cotton

U.S. Senator