The White House's top lawyer made contact with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to inquire about its review of the purchase of Tribune Media stations by the conservative broadcaster Sinclair, Pai told a Senate committee on Thursday.
Why it matters: The FCC — and merger reviews generally — are supposed to be independent from the White House. Pai explained, "no one has called from the White House to express a view. We received one status inquiry."
The details: Pai said he spoke with McGahn on July 16 or July 17. On July 16, Pai expressed "serious concerns" about the deal and moved to send parts of the transaction to an administrative law judge in a move that can prove fatal for a merger. Tribune has since dropped out of the deal and is suing Sinclair.
President Trump criticized Pai over his decision on the deal in a tweet on July 24.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said Thursday that his agency took action against a Texas pirate radio station simply because it operated without a license — not because it airs the content of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
The big picture: Web platforms from Facebook to Twitter have faced calls recently to take down content from Jones and his website InfoWars. Some, like Facebook, have taken steps to ban him while others, like Twitter, have been more reticent to respond.
The details: "Last Friday, the United States government sued in a Texas federal district court to enforce a $15,000 enforcement order issued by the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau in 2014 against a pirate radio station in Austin, Texas," said Pai.
What they're saying: “Some have criticized the FCC for removing Mr. Jones from the airwaves in Austin, allegedly because of the content of his program. Many others have praised us for allegedly taking that same action," said Pai. “It is important to make clear that our pirate radio enforcement efforts, including this one, have nothing to do with the content pirate radio stations air."
The top political spenders on Google's ad platforms since the end of May include President Trump's political committee as well as individual candidates in competitive races, according to data the company released for the first time on Wednesday.
The big picture: New ad transparency initiatives on the part of major web platforms allow the public to see, to varying degrees, how online advertisers are trying to influence their votes.
Top spenders on Google's platforms since the last day of May, which includes the Search tool and YouTube, came from both sides of the aisle, including:
Individual candidates have poured money into the platforms as well.
Top keywords — or the terms advertisers can use to reach an audience — included "ACLU," "Diane Black" (the Republican member of Congress who ran for governor in Tennessee), and "Ron DeSantis," the lawmaker running for the Republican nomination to replace Scott as Florida's governor.
Google’s tallies include ads featuring candidates for federal office or incumbents, but not issue ads that talk about a contentious debate.
Go deeper: Google releases political ad directory
