Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., in an interview with Newsmax, said members of the House Oversight Committee are “chomping at the bit” to begin hearings on the decision by AT&T DirecTV to drop Newsmax.
Comer who chairs the committee, made his remarks Friday on “John Bachman Now.”
“I’m very concerned,” he said. “I’m very upset that DirecTV does not have Newsmax. I’ve been in constant communication with the leadership of DirecTV and AT&T. I have strongly encouraged them to meet with your CEO Mr. [Christopher] Ruddy to get this worked out or else.
“So, I think if anyone has ever watched the House Oversight Committee — any of our first three hearings — they have to ask themselves: Do you really want to go in front of the House Oversight Committee? This is something the 26 Republicans on the committee are very passionate about.
“We’re all huge fans of Newsmax. We don’t like to see Newsmax not being offered on DirecTV — especially considering that Newsmax is the fourth highest rated news show on TV now. And they [DirecTV officials] have dozens of news shows that have much lower ratings than Newsmax. So, I’m doing everything in my ability to see that this gets worked out. If it doesn’t then I would expect the Republican majority to begin to take steps to take action.
“I’m going to be meeting with some more leaders from DirecTV. They know that I want answers. Our committee is chomping at the bit to get them in front of the committee. We want this resolved and hopefully we’ll see something in the next few days.”