NBC News has come under fire over allegations that the network violated federal law by giving airtime to Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris on “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) over the weekend.
On Saturday’s broadcast of the show, Harris made a cameo appearance for a skit.
However, the network violated the longstanding “Equal Time” federal law by having Harris on the show but not President Donald Trump.
Amid the backlash, NBC News filed an Equal Time notice with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) late Sunday.
The filing disclosed Harris’s appearance after the network was accused of violating the longstanding rule.
The notice from NBC to the FCC reads:
“Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for president in the 2024 national election, appeared without charge on NBC’s ‘Saturday Night Live’ (SNL) for a total period of 1 minute and 30 seconds on November 2, 2024.”
Under normal circumstances, the filing would allow all other qualified candidates competing against Harris to seek equal airtime from NBC for up to a week.
NBC would be required to grant it under federal law.
However, Saturday’s broadcast of SNL was the last time the show will air before Tuesday’s critical presidential election.
The notice comes after Commissioner Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the FCC, lambasted NBC’s decision to host Harris in the final episode of SNL ahead of Election Day.
NBC’s move ensured that SNL would not be able to offer equal time to Trump or other candidates in the presidential cycle.
In a statement, FCC Commissioner Carr said:
“This has all the appearances of, at least some leadership at NBC, at SNL, making clear that they wanted to weigh-in in favor of one candidate before the election.
“That’s exactly why, for decades, we’ve had an equal time rule on the book, is to prevent that.
“Because remember, broadcasters are placed in a special position of trust.
“They’re not just like any other person with a soapbox on the corner.
“They have a license from the federal government that obligates them to operate in the public interest.”
Carr notes that NBC’s late Sunday filing confirms that the network is claiming that the “Harris SNL appearance as a free use of their facilities and airwaves within the meaning of the federal Equal Time rule.”
He also highlighted the limited timeframe Trump and others have in this case to take the network up on its offer.
In normal Equal Time cases, “it would usually open up a seven-day period when all other qualified candidates can seek Equal Time from NBC – meaning comparable time on a comparable program,” Carr said.
“Here, opposing candidates don’t have seven days.”
In a post on X, Carr accused the broadcasting company of intentionally violating the FCC’s equal time rule by hosting the Democrat presidential nominee, but not Trump or other presidential candidates such as Jill Stein or even Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Despite dropping out of the race earlier this year and endorsing Trump, Kennedy is still on election ballots.
NBC has also filed an Equal Time notice for providing a free SNL appearance to a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate. pic.twitter.com/818NIje6qY
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) November 4, 2024
The FEC’s equal-time rule was established in 1934 and requires radio and television broadcast stations to provide the same amount of time for competing political candidates.
There are exceptions to the rule such as newscasts, documentaries, and political debates.
Over the weekend, Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller told Fox News that SNL did not extend an invitation to Trump.
Campaign spokesman Steven Cheung lambasted Harris’s appearance as a sign of desperation to appeal to voters as “her campaign spirals down the drain into obscurity.”
Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Hillary Clinton’s running mate during her failed 2016 presidential run, also appeared in a skit on Saturday.
He played as a contestant on a game show who couldn’t remember who Kaine was.
NBC also filed an Equal Time notice for Kaine’s appearance, Carr revealed.
Kaine is running for re-election in Virginia against Republican challenger Hung Cao.
READ MORE – Biden-Harris Admin Licenses ‘DNA Vaccines’ in the U.S Food Supply
