First Amendment: Investigate Political Interference in Media Editorial Decisions

Today I take pen in hand to write and to urge you to investigate potential political interference at CBS News and monopolization of the media in general. Congress has oversight authority over both antitrust enforcement and FCC regulations that govern the media, specifically to minimize a political and monetary monopoly over free speech. As an example, the most troubling incident occurred in December 2025 when Bari Weiss -installed as news chief desoite having zero experience — pulled a fully vetted 60 Minutes segment about CECOT prison in El Salvador just three hours before broadcast. The piece featured interviews with deportees sent there by the Trump Administration in violation of a court order. Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi called the decision "political, not editorial." This censorship coincided precisely with Ellison's hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, which required Trump Administration approval. This pattern extends beyond one incident. Paramount paid Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. Trump praised both the new ownership and Weiss during a subsequent Mar-a-Lago interview. The Ellison acquisition itself required Trump Administration approval. These financial and regulatory entanglements create dangerous incentives for self-censorship. A free press cannot function when broadcast networks make editorial decisions based on what will please government officials who control their business interests. Indeed, thus is the end game caused by the deregulation of these giant media monopolies that started decades ago. CBS News has served the public for decades as an independent source of accountability journalism. When a network kills a story about deportees imprisoned in violation of court orders because it might displease an administration that controls the parent company's merger prospects, that is not editorial judgment. That is prior restraint through economic pressure. The First Amendment protects press freedom not just from direct government censorship but from the chilling effect of regulatory capture. I urge you to examine whether media consolidation and regulatory approval processes are being weaponized to influence news coverage. Our democracy depends on news organizations that can report on government actions and bring transparency to the public without fear of economic retaliation. Please investigate this matter and consider what legislative remedies might prevent such conflicts of interest in future media acquisitions, and whether anti-trust laws have been violated. Thank you.