Senate Democrats investigate CBS over blocked Colbert interview
Source: The Guardian
Tue 24 Feb 2026 11.26 EST
Last modified on Tue 24 Feb 2026 11.41 EST
US Senate Democrats are launching an investigation into whether the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the CBS parent company, Paramount, prevented Stephen Colbert, the network’s talkshow host, from broadcasting an interview with the Texas Democratic candidate, James Talarico.
Richard Blumenthal, the ranking Democrat on the Senate’s permanent subcommittee on investigations, has written to the FCC’s enforcement bureau and to the CEO of Paramount Skydance, David Ellison. The Democratic senator demands information and documents relating to the Colbert controversy, including any communications with Donald Trump’s White House.
The Democratic senator accuses the pro-Trump FCC chairperson, Brendan Carr, of running a “partisan censorship scheme” designed to suppress critical coverage of the president to the benefit of his Republican party. The claim is at the center of Blumenthal’s preliminary inquiry into what he called the “FCC’s abuse of power, including dubious investigations and misrepresentations … to silence free speech”.
Blumenthal is also accusing Paramount of censorship of “critical news and satire” at the behest of the president.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/24/colbert-interview-senate-democrats-cbs
Link to Sen. Blumenthal PRESS RELEASE - Blumenthal Demands Answers About FCC's Weaponization of "Equal Time" Rule to Chill Free Speech
Link to LETTERS (inquiries) (PDFs)
https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026-2-23-Letter-from-Sen.-Richard-Blumenthal-to-Patrick-Webre-and-Erin-Boone.pdf
https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026-2-23-Letter-from-Sen.-Richard-Blumenthal-to-David-Ellison.pdf