WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Senator Rick Scott joined Senator Marco Rubio leading colleagues in a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel regarding the sale of 18 Spanish-language radio stations, including Miami’s conservative Radio Mambí, to the Latino Media Network (LMN), a recently formed media group run by Democrat activists and funded in part by leftwing billionaire George Soros. 

“We are concerned that LMN, as a newly formed front group led by partisan operatives with zero experience in broadcasting, may work to silence political viewpoints with which its funders disagree. If successful, LMN could exercise virtually uncontested influence over nearly one third of all Hispanics across the country,” the lawmakers wrote. “Given the importance of the FCC’s stewardship over the limited AM and FM bandwidth available across the United States, we ask that the commission carry out its due diligence and thoughtfully scrutinize the takeover of these stations by a partisan organization only announced last week.” 

“Far from benign, the proposed sale is the latest in a series of moves by elite progressives desperate to claw back support from Hispanic voters, who have rightly turned their backs on Democrats and their socialist priorities,” the lawmakers continued. “But instead of overhauling their own unpopular policies, we are concerned that far-left ideologues are attempting to consolidate and expand their control over the media, so they can flood the airwaves with propaganda with the hopes of fooling listeners so that they can silence effective conservative voices who challenge their progressive propaganda.” 

Joining Senators Scott and Rubio was Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), as well as Representatives Carlos Giménez (R-FL), María Elvira Salazar (R-FL), and Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL). 

Read the letter HERE or below. 

Dear Chairwoman Rosenworcel: 

We write to urge the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), within all applicable rules and regulations, and pursuant to the FCC’s public interest mandate pursuant to the Radio Act of 1927 (P.L. 69-632), to thoroughly scrutinize the proposed sale of 18 Spanish-language radio stations to the so-called Latino Media Network (LMN), including Radio Mambí 710 AM in Miami, Florida. We are concerned that LMN, as a newly formed front group led by partisan operatives with zero experience in broadcasting, may work to silence political viewpoints with which its funders disagree. If successful, LMN could exercise virtually uncontested influence over nearly one third of all Hispanics across the country.  Given the importance of the FCC’s stewardship over the limited AM and FM bandwidth available across the United States, we ask that the commission carry out its due diligence and thoughtfully scrutinize the takeover of these stations by a partisan organization only announced last week. 

Many of the stations implicated in this sale are pillars of their local community. For example, Radio Mambí serves a vital role in South Florida, offering listeners critical coverage of the dictatorship in Cuba and local news reporting. In some cases, these are among the last media outlets dedicated to, and staffed by, the local community. The hostile takeover by LMN would destroy those long-standing community connections. 

LMN’s founders, Obama Administration and campaign alumnae, have emphasized the unprecedented scope of the proposed sale, touting it as “one of the largest single acquisitions of stations by a Latino owned and operated company in history.”  While grave questions remain about the nature of LMN – its precise ownership structure, the potential involvement of foreign funding, how it intends to program a massive network of radio stations given its total lack of experience – there should be no ambiguity about the intent of this transaction. Funding for the LMN comes mostly from Democrat partisans, including Lakestar Finance LLC, an investment firm tied to leftwing billionaire George Soros. 

Far from benign, the proposed sale is the latest in a series of moves by elite progressives desperate to claw back support from Hispanic voters, who have rightly turned their backs on Democrats and their socialist priorities. But instead of overhauling their own unpopular policies, we are concerned that far-left ideologues are attempting to consolidate and expand their control over the media, so they can flood the airwaves with propaganda with the hopes of fooling listeners so that they can silence effective conservative voices who challenge their progressive propaganda. 

In fact, leftists have been explicit about these aims; last year, faced with the prospect of losing political influence via the proposed sale of a single AM radio station located in Miami, members of the all-Democrat Congressional Hispanic Caucus jumped to action to halt the transaction. Past and present members of the caucus were clear about their real purpose in getting involved, with one proclaiming in April 2021: “To win in 2022 this must stop!”  

With the collapse of that sale, Democrats are back on the offensive, now pushing to take over 18 different Spanish-language radio stations around the United States. We believe that this blatant, partisan effort to destroy community-based radio and silence opposing voices provides ample reason for the FCC to act with the due diligence with which it has been tasked. We also believe that any takeover of this scale and speed, especially when critical questions remain about LMN and its lack of operational experience, must be analyzed with extraordinary scrutiny.

Thank you for your attention to this vitally important subject. We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

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