A group backed by George Soros is buying up more than 200 Audacy radio stations in the U.S. and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr confirms to Glenn that the FCC is helping fast-track the acquisition! Carr joins Glenn to expose this never-before-seen move by the FCC, which he objected to. He also weighs in on just how suspicious this acquisition is, especially since most investors are taking money OUT of the radio industry. So, does this purchase have anything to do with influencing the 2024 election?

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: I want to tell you what happened with the FCC yesterday. So last week, this just came out. Last week, the FCC adopted an order to approve the purchase of more than 200 radio stations, in 40 markets.

Just a couple of weeks, before the presidential election. Now, I don't think this is going to affect the presidential election.

But he's -- the one who is behind this is George Soros.

George Soros just bought 200 radio stations, in 40 different markets. Now, the vote came down in the FCC, it was partisan. Three Democrats voting for it.

Two Republicans voting against it.

But here's -- here's the real problem.

According to existing FCC rules. Foreign company ownership of US radio stations is not supposed to exceed 25 percent. But Soros took foreign investment money to make his bid.

And then he asked the FCC to make an exception, to the usual review process.

So they -- the FCC fast tracked this.

Why? Why would they that do?

There's something else, that is really important. You know the -- the -- the left has been saying, we've got to get off of dial-up. We've got to get off of dial-up.

We need high-speed Internet for the rural areas. Well, for some reason, the FCC has delayed the rollout of the internet, to rural communities.

Again, why are they doing that?

Maybe the guy who has the answer is the FCC commissioner.

He's Brendan Carr.

Brendan, how are you, sir?

BRENDAN: I'm doing great. Wonderful to join you again.

GLENN: I wish we could talk on good things.

You know, call me sometimes when something -- when something great would happen.

Brendan, tell me, do I have this right, first of all, about the George Soros takeover of radio stations? And if so, why was there an exception made and fast tracked?

BRENDAN: Well, you note -- you had the story out last week. Or actually yesterday.

That says, that the FCC, last week, adopted an order. That effectively fast tracked Soros' purchase of a 200 radio station.

But I haven't commented on that publicly. Because the fact is the FCC hasn't released a final decision to the public. The reporting is that we adopted it, last week in a three-two vote.

I didn't -- outspoken on this particular issue. The reasons you talked about. We have a very clear process that we set up. It could take six months to a year that we're going through.

But for reasons that are not sort of plain to me. The FCC commission, for the very first time ever, has skipped that process. For the benefit of this Soros-backed group. It sort of lets people draw their own conclusions about it.

But, again, it's an unprecedented decision for the commission.

GLENN: Never happened before.

BRENDAN: That's right. We at the commission level, adopted one way. That you can buy radio stations, if you have accepted foreign ownership, which they do.

And that one process is the lengthy six to one year national security review.

And it's been -- now, a lot of these stations are probably just classic rock or news.

But not all of them.

GLENN: And they don't have to be.

BRENDAN: Yeah.

Conversations -- there's at least three stations that you're on, that are part of this deal thing with Sean Hannity, same with Dana Lash. Same with Mark Levin. And so there are at least subtleties that are conservative news and talk outlets.

GLENN: I've got to tell you, if this was a conservative doing this, I doubt the FCC would have okayed it. Any ramifications? Go ahead.

BRENDAN: Yeah. Well -- yeah, Glenn, we actually have that example.

So not too long ago. A year ago. There was a group of conservative buyers.

That wanted to purchase some south Florida radio station. And a number of Democrats spoke up very loudly and said the FCC cannot allow these conservative outlets to buy these radio stations.

Because in the Democrat's view, it can cost them an election in south Florida. And I missed that pressure campaign. The conservative buyers abandoned the deal. So we've seen across-the-board conservative efforts by Democrats. To sort of weaponize the government, to go against conservative speech. There was California Democrats in Congress, that wrote letters to cable companies, telling them to drop Fox News, Newsmax, and OAN because of the editorial decisions, that their news room information -- we had a Baltimore resident call on the FCC, to investigate a local TV station that was exposing her own corruption.

And so this is sort of the reverse side of a pattern, that we've been living under the last couple of years, of weaponization of government power.

In my view, frankly against free speech.

GLENN: Now, we are told, everywhere, that radio is a dying medium. Why would George Soros want to invest this kind of money?

What did he say in his request?

BRENDAN: It's a good question. Look, I don't know a lot of billionaires right now. That with all the options with where they're going to place their money. To sit around and say, you know what kicks off like cash right now.

Is the local radio station.

Maybe. Maybe. But if any reason, we're seeing the opposite.

We're seeing a flight of capital from local broadcasting, because it's so challenged right now with competitions from social media companies and over the top providers. So maybe there's a business there, that they're smart enough to see. That everyone else doesn't see.

That's really not the direction can of the Capitol, we're seeing right now.

GLENN: And the foreign investment.

Do we know who these people are?

BRENDAN: No, we don't. So the Audacy stations win the bankruptcies. And the Soros group put together a bunch of investors to buy it out, and they have come forward and said, you know, there's in essence, 25 percent, which is the threshold, of foreign entities.

That are investing.

It's more likely than not, there's no big deal there at all.

But the fact is, we usually run a national security group to identify whose those are, and whether they're fine or not.

And what Soros has said, that is in the near term, to wall off those foreign stakeholders, and then come back to the FCC down the road. To run that longer, sort of six-month to one-year process.

So I do think we need to stay vigilant here.

This is an issue. At least that portion of it, that we'll come back here before the FCC in the coming months.

GLENN: Any idea how long it will take, before he has control?

BRENDAN: I think it will be almost instantaneous.

You know, after the FCC releases a final decision, that approves it.

You know, they've already been hardly getting them out of bankruptcy.

But I think it will be a near instantaneous ability to take the reins of all these 200 stations. The FCC's decision if this reporting is right.

GLENN: Such a game we're playing here.

When -- when do you suppose, if this reporting is right, they will report on the vote that you were involved in?

BRENDAN: I think the reporting that I see, Jeff said, it could within the next week or so.

GLENN: Okay. So this could actually take place before the election.

BRENDAN: Oh, yeah. I would expect that for sure. Well ahead of it.

GLENN: Talk to me about the other really weird, that happened. With the high-speed Internet. In rural areas.

BRENDAN: Well, this is interesting. There seems to be a pattern emerging within the Biden Harris administration, of this fight, investing billions and billions of everybody. Taxpayer dollars. Leaving rural America behind, when it comes to connectivity. Back in 2019, or 2020, we cut a deal, with EchoStar with Dish. To guarantee, that they would provide 5G high-speed internet to rural America. It was part of a DOJ settlement. It was actually litigated in court.

It was adopted by the full commission. Then in a Friday afternoon news dump last week, the FCC's leadership, any public input being sought, relieved Dish/EchoStar of the obligation. It was just a one-sentence entry. You know, licensing database.

And frankly, I have been at the FCC for 12 years. I have never seen anything like that.

It's sort of the worse abuse of process that I've seen in the agents. You know, we have rural Americans guaranteed to get this service. It was a June 2025, build-out obligation.

And Dish/EchoStar came in and asked for relief and on Wednesday -- sorry, Tuesday night, last week. And by Friday, this massive, you know, relief was provided without any input from me or I'm assuming at least the Republican commissioner that I'm with.

GLENN: I'm trying to piece this together. Why -- why would that happen?

BRENDAN: Well, I think there are still a lot of questions to be answered. You know, there was some sort of deal that was cut here.

The features of which, have not been publicly disclosed.

You know, and I just think, there's one way we still have to ask a lot of questions.

This was a rumor, a lot earlier over the weekend. That a company. Dish Echo could potentially go bankrupt before the election, if they didn't get this relief. That's just a rumor. I don't know if it's true. But, certainly, I think there's a lot more to this.

Because, again, the only thing the FCC did was enter a one-sentence line, licensing, database, granting its extension.

So I think the agency has a lot more explaining to do, to justify this decision.

GLENN: I -- thank you very much for your courage, for speaking out and being the guy you are.

I mean, I've been in this business for, you know, almost 50 years.

And I've never even thought of an FCC commissioner.

Because they weren't -- you know, they just didn't -- I don't know.

They didn't have that much affect, on, you know, every day life.

And the things that are come out of the FCC now. Are truly, I think frightening.

Especially if you're on my end of the microphone.

It is -- it's stuff I've never seen before.

As you say, you've been a commissioner for 12 years. You've never seen it before.

And it doesn't make a lot of sense.

Unless you start to think like a -- you know, like a thriller writer, then it becomes more terrifying.

Brendan, thank you.

BRENDAN: Enjoy it. And one day I'll come back on, and we'll have some good news and stuff. I'm sure, it will happen at some point.

GLENN: All right. Good. Good. Thanks.

Brendan Carr, the FCC commissioner.