More than a year since Gigi Sohn last had a Senate hearing on her nomination for the FCC, Gigi Sohn on Tuesday backtracked, telling lawmakers that “I strongly believe that regulated companies should not vote for their regulators.”
Before the Senate Commerce Committee, she made “false and misleading attacks on my balance sheet and character” for the third time, accusing her industry opponents of “hiding behind shady money groups and proxies for being pragmatic, pro-competitive, pro-consumer “fear. policy of manufacturers.” .”
At stake is the Biden administration’s ability to overcome a 2-2 partisan deadlock on the committee that left the fifth seat vacant when Sohn’s nomination faltered last year. But President Joe Biden recently renominated her to the new Congress, despite opposition from the GOP, attacks from the telecommunications and media industries and, in the eyes of some of her staunchest supporters, a smear campaign.
The latter was a guilt story by the Daily Mail related to her membership on the board of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which often ran afoul of studios and media outlets over copyright issues, and her assignment to Mistress Blunt, a sex therapist. Employee honored for her involvement in politics for digital rights and technology. EFF told the Daily Mail that Sohn had no part in Blunt’s selection for the award.
One of their donors is Preston Padden, a former top lobbyist for The Walt Disney Co. and CEO of News Corp., who wrote in a letter to the committee that Sohn was subjected to “the worst, most cynical and baseless smear campaign ever waged against a candidate for the FCC. Frau Sohn’s only sin is that she represent the outsider and the consumer.”
“As a result, some of the dominant cable TV companies and Internet providers have sunk to unprecedented lows in an attempt to defame Ms. Sohn,” Padden wrote. “They rightly fear that she will be a voice to demand that they compete fairly and respect the consumer.”
But Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the top Republican on the Commerce Committee, characterized Sohn as someone who has “proven to be a partisan,” while claiming that she lacks good judgment and temper. He cited political contributions Sohn made to Democratic candidates while their nominations were pending. They totaled more than $1,000, he said. FEC data shows donations of $550 to Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), a committee member.
“I’m a citizen who just wanted to participate in the democratic process,” Sohn told Cruz, adding that the contributions were “relatively small donations.”
Sohn’s nomination never made it past Congress in the 50-50 Senate. Sohn suggested that there are certain very large companies that want the FCC to stay locked in. It’s no secret.” Sohn would be the commission’s first openly LGBTQ member.
She was first nominated for the FCC in 2021. Their confirmation would give Democrats a 3-2 edge over the FCC, as the party that controls the White House traditionally holds the majority on the committee. This will give the Commission a chance to move forward on contentious issues such as net neutrality and media consolidation.
In two previous hearings, Republicans grilled Sohn about her past social media posts on Fox News, while hosts like Tucker Carlson and Jesse Watters blasted her nomination. Lawmakers also raised questions about her involvement in a startup company called Locast. The nonprofit service provided streaming broadcast signals, but ceased operations after broadcast networks sued for copyright infringement and a federal judge ruled in their favor.
At Tuesday’s hearing, Cruz said that if Sohn’s “brutal theft of intellectual property, her lack of openness and her conflict of interest are not inherently disqualifying, her years of poor judgment should seal her fate.”
Sohn said last year that she would recuse herself from rebroadcasting and broadcasting rights issues for the first three years of her tenure. But that didn’t reassure others in the industry, such as cable lobbyists, who argued it needed to avoid other problems as well. Sohn said last year that her omission of a number of other controversial issues means that “nobody with any knowledge who has ever spoken about these issues will ever be qualified as an FCC commissioner, and that’s perverse.”
Sohn’s years as an advocate for the public interest, including co-founding the advocacy group Public Knowledge, have at times brought her into conflict with big business and telcos and Hollywood studios. Last year, the creative community took mixed views on her nomination: the Directors Guild of America rejected her, the Writers Guild of America West wanted her on the committee.
Democrats now hope that after winning a seat in the midterm elections, Sun has a better chance of vacating the Senate, perhaps in the spring.
There is more to come.
Source: Deadline
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
