Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) on Wednesday sent a letter to House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) requesting an investigation into Congressional Democrats’ history of “pressuring private companies to shut down the speech of those with different ideologies than theirs.”
According to Burchett, “In 2021, Congressional Democrats sent official letters to numerous private television companies urging them to take retaliatory action against certain ‘right wing’ media outlets like Newsmax, Fox News, and OAN.”
This led several cable companies to cancel contracts with One America News Network (OANN).
As The Gateway Pundit previously reported in January 2022, Joe Biden and the Democrats ordered the far left Tech Giants and media outlets to banish voices that deviated from the regime’s official narrative. DirecTV then notified OANN that “following a routine internal review,” they would not renew the contract to carry the channel.
President Trump later suggested during a rally in Florence, Arizona, that supporters should boycott woke DirecTV and AT&T, which owns 70% of the cable TV service, for bowing down to their Leftist overlords.
DirecTV later announced they were deplatforming NewsMax in January 2023 but reached an agreement with the company and returned the channel to their platform on March 23, 2023.
Leftist Verizon also dropped OANN later in 2022, claiming the negotiations with OANN were typical and usual and that OAN did not agree to “fair terms.” However, OAN disagreed. The pro-Trump MAGA channel hosts told a different story, insisting NOTHING was typical about the negotiations, and Verizon did not even attempt to negotiate a contract.
"The idea of large, publicly traded companies taking retaliatory action against conservative outlets is concerning. Even more troubling, however, is the continued effort by Congressional Democrats to violate Americans' constitutionally protected rights. That is why I respectfully request an investigation and hearing on the continued censorship of conservative news media outlets," Burchett states in his letter before urging the House Republican Majority to stop letting Democrats "deny our constituents access to information."
Congress must also investigate attempts by the federal government, including the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and the Biden Regime's army of government agencies, for their continued censorship of conservative media outlets like The Gateway Pundit and One America News Network on social media.
Rep. Tim Burchett announced his letter to the House Oversight Committee on X earlier this week:
Members of Congress are supposed to protect Americans' constitutional rights, not repress them. If Democrats are contacting private companies to shut down the folks at
@OANN because of their political views, that needs to be investigated and weeded out immediately.
Members of Congress are supposed to protect Americans' constitutional rights, not repress them.
If Democrats are contacting private companies to shut down the folks at @OANN because of their political views, that needs to be investigated and weeded out immediately. pic.twitter.com/AlVYAOox2m
— Rep. Tim Burchett (@RepTimBurchett) April 24, 2024
Read the full letter from Rep. Tim Burchett below:
Dear Chairman Comer and Ranking Member Raskin:
Thank you for your commitment to improving the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of the federal government and its agencies. I write to inform the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of my concerns over the apparent censorship and cancellation of One America News Network (OAN).
It has come to my attention that in 2021, Congressional Democrats sent official letters to numerous private television companies urging them to take retaliatory action against certain "right wing" media outlets like Newsmax, Fox News, and OAN. Then, in 2022, DirectTV, Verizon Fios, and Frontier all declined to renew their contracts with OAN. The timing of these events is cause for concern, as members of Congress have no business pressuring private companies to shut down the speech of those with different ideologies than theirs.
The idea of large, publicly traded companies taking retaliatory action against conservative outlets is concerning. Even more troubling, however, is the continued effort by Congressional Democrats to violate Americans' constitutionally protected rights. That is why I respectfully request an investigation and hearing on the continued censorship of conservative news media outlets.
The Republican House majority cannot and should not stand idly by as Democrats deny our constituents access to information. Thank you for your time and consideration of this important matter.
Sincerely
Tim Burchett,
Member of Congress
This is a developing story.
