FCC chair says agency is looking into ‘enforcement action’ against “The View” over James Talarico appearance

The View is under investigation by the FCC, Chairman Brendan Carr confirmed in an open meeting Wednesday.

“The FCC has an enforcement action underway on that,” Carr said when asked if the agency had opened a probe into the daytime series over potential violations of the “equal time” rule, because of an interview with politician James Talarico. “And we’re taking a look at it.”

Talarico, a Democratic candidate running to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate, appeared on the show earlier this month.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who will face Talarico in the Democratic primary, has also been a guest.

The View declined to comment; however, a network source pointed out that the talk show, which premiered in 1997, routinely hosts political leaders and candidates from across the political spectrum to discuss current events, including politics, and their differing viewpoints. The format is consistent with how the show has operated for years and what audiences expect and tune in for, the source said.

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Late-night host Stephen Colbert also mentioned Talarico on Tuesday when he criticized The Late Show’s network, CBS, for allegedly prohibiting him from airing the interview in order to avoid triggering the equal time rule.

Network lawyers, he said, “told me unilaterally that I had to abide by the equal time rules, something I’ve never been asked to do for an interview in the 21 years of this job. That decision, I want to be clear, is their right, just like I have the right to talk about their decision on air.”

Colbert explained that talk shows have traditionally been exempt from the rule.

“We looked, and we can’t find one example of this rule being enforced for any talk show interview, not only for my entire late-night career, but for anyone’s late-night career going back to the 1960s,” Colbert told his audience. “But on Jan. 21, we heard from FCC chairman Brendan Carr [who] issued a letter saying he was thinking about getting rid of that talk show exception. He’d not gotten rid of it yet, but CBS generously did it for him.”

The comedian said he had posted his interview with Talarico to YouTube, because he couldn’t include it in his show.

CBS said in a statement to PEOPLE that Colbert “was not prohibited by CBS” from airing the conversation with Talarico, but was “provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett.”

Colbert also noted on his show Tuesday that he’s had Crockett on twice.

UPDATE: This article has been edited to reflect the show declining comment and the network source’s explanation of the show’s background.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly