1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

On February 17, 2026, CBS lawyers called “The Late Show” directly and told Stephen Colbert he could not air his taped interview with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico. Then they told him he couldn’t mention that fact on air, couldn’t show Talarico’s photo, and couldn’t share the YouTube link where the interview eventually landed. CBS later claimed it didn’t “prohibit” anything, only offered “legal guidance.” That distinction deserves scrutiny. Governments in Turkey, Hungary, and Russia don’t ban broadcasts outright either. They threaten broadcast licenses, open regulatory investigations, and let corporate executives do the rest. FCC Chair Brendan Carr opened a probe into “The View” on February 3 after Talarico appeared there. He sent a letter on January 21 saying he was considering stripping the longstanding talk show exemption from equal time rules. He hasn’t changed any rules. CBS preemptively censored a Senate candidate the night before early voting opened anyway. The financial picture is impossible to ignore. In 2025, Paramount paid $16 million to settle Trump’s lawsuit over a “60 Minutes” segment, funds directed to Trump’s presidential library. The FCC approved Paramount’s $8 billion Skydance merger shortly after. CBS canceled Colbert’s show days after he criticized that settlement publicly. FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez called the pattern plainly on February 17: “corporate capitulation in the face of this Administration’s broader campaign to censor and control speech.” I’m urging you to demand immediate Senate and House Commerce Committee hearings into Brendan Carr’s conduct and to pass legislation codifying the talk show exemption before the March 3 Texas primary. Regulatory agencies don’t belong to the president. Congress needs to make that clear now, while there’s still an election worth protecting.