WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- House Democrats asked the FCC Wednesday to investigation Sinclair Broadcasting Inc.'s decision to air a 90-minute anti-Kerry attack documentary.
The Baltimore-based company asked its 62 affiliates across the country, many in swing states that reach a quarter of U.S. households, to preempt regular programming in order to air a program before the November 2nd election. That program is critical of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry's anti-Vietnam War record.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and others sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell asking for an investigation and citing the fact Sinclair broadcasts over publicly-licensed airways.
"The American public, which owns the airwaves that Sinclair would use for its partisan political purposes, expects the FCC to uphold the basic principle of fairness which is at the root of our democracy," states the letter. "If Sinclair Broadcasting is allowed to proceed with this broadcast it is difficult to understand how equal time policies will not have been violated."
The company, which has a history of conservative activism, argues it has invited Kerry to appear on the program.
