What outgoing Late Show host Stephen Colbert said about CBS on Tuesday contradicts what he said on Monday.
Monday night, Colbert told his dwindling Late Show audience the following (emphasis mine):
You know who is not one of my guests tonight? That’s Texas State Representative James Talarico. He was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast. Then I was told, in some uncertain terms, that not only could I not have him on, I could not mention not having him on.
After blaming the Trump Administration for enforcing the FCC “equal time” rule, Colbert said that “Donald Trump’s administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV.”
Tuesday afternoon, CBS released a statement that contradicts all of that:
THE LATE SHOW was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Rep. James Talarico. The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled. THE LATE SHOW decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options.
So Colbert says the network told him in no uncertain terms he could not broadcast the interview with Rep. James Talarico (D-TX) while CBS claims they merely pointed out how broadcasting that interview could trigger the “equal time” rule. Additionally, CBS offered “options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled.”
Namely, as I mentioned yesterday, it could be fulfilled by giving “equal time” to Talarico’s opponents for next month’s Democrat nomination for the Texas U.S. Senate seat: Rep. Jasmine Crockett and businessman Ahmad Hassan, both of whom are on the ballot.
Rather than offer the two candidates not supported by the Democrat Party establishment equal time, he chose to run the Talarico interview on YouTube.
Nevertheless, as you can see, there is a massive gulf between what Colbert claims and what CBS claims.
Colbert said he was ordered not to broadcast the interview. CBS says the exact opposite.
CBS basically called Colbert a liar, and on Tuesday night, Colbert didn’t dispute that. Instead, he mealy-mouthed around it:
They know damn well that every word of my script last night was approved by CBS lawyers, who, for the record, approve every script that goes on the air… CBS told me unilaterally that I had to abide by the equal time rules, something I have never been asked to do for an interview in the 21 years of this job… I was even pulled backstage during taping for ‘notes’ from lawyers on language to use — unprecedented.
In fact, as far as I’m concerned, in the paragraph above, Colbert admitted he lied. “CBS told me unilaterally I had to abide by the equal time rules” is a far cry from “we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast.”
Stephen Colbert seems desperate to do two things: 1) make himself a martyr, and 2) make a perfect fool of himself while doing so.
John Nolte’s first and last novel, Borrowed Time, is winning five-star raves from everyday readers. You can read an excerpt here and an in-depth review here. Also available in hardcover and on Kindle and Audiobook.
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