A group of top Republican Senate lawmakers sent a letter to DirecTV executives on Wednesday demanding the satellite service explain its decision to axe the conservative news channel Newsmax from its airwaves. The letter accused the satellite giant of engaging in political censorship on behalf of far-left Democrats.
“DirecTV’s decision follows recent revelations of collusion between Big Tech companies and Democrat officials to label conservative speech as ‘misinformation’ and censor it,” they wrote. “The silencing of conservative speech at the request of government officials is a direct assault on free speech and a threat to democracy.”
The letter was written by Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Mike Lee of Utah, and Tom Cotton of Arkansas and shared first with The Hill,
DirecTV dropped Newsmax last week, less than a year after the company took the conservative One America News Network (OANN) off its listings. In March, Lee and Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley sent a letter to DirecTV’s parent company, AT&T, that alleged the telecom giant’s chairman was prioritizing personal interests over the company’s fiduciary obligations to shareholders.
“These facts raise serious questions about the role of political influence in DirecTV’s programming decisions,” the pair of lawmakers wrote, “as well as whether AT&T’s Chairman has allowed personal financial considerations to influence his oversight.”
Recently re-elected Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel condemned DirecTV’s final decision to axe Newsmax from its channel lineup in a statement Wednesday.
“DirecTV’s decision to censor Newsmax — the
