Conservative Coalition Urges Senate To Reject Biden’s FCC Nominee Over ‘Questionable Ethics’

A conservative coalition is calling for senators to reject President Joe Biden's nomination of Gigi Sohn to the Federal Communications Commission, citing her criticism of conservative networks and alleged conflicts of interest with businesses she would oversee as an FCC commissioner.

In a letter sent on Monday to Senate Commerce Committee chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.) and ranking member Roger Wicker (R., Miss.), the coalition of 13 advocacy groups raised alarm over Sohn's involvement with Locast, a now-defunct nonprofit streaming service that major broadcast networks sued for illegally streaming their content. The Washington Free Beacon reported last week that Locast skirted a hefty $32 million payout to the networks just one day after Biden announced Sohn—one of the company’s three directors—as his FCC pick. Following Sohn’s nomination, Locast settled with the networks for just $700,000.

Wicker last week said Locast's settlement raised concerns over Sohn's "future financial liability to a number of companies regulated by the FCC." The conservative coalition agreed, arguing Sohn's "sweetheart settlement" with networks she would regulate on the FCC marks a "pattern of questionable ethics."