CBS News released a statement yesterday saying that Stephen Colbert himself decided not to run the James Talarico interview, and that the network never told him he couldn’t air it.
Here’s what CBS said:
“THE LATE SHOW was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Rep. James Talarico. The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled. THE LATE SHOW decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options.”
In other words, this is all one big hoax by Colbert in order to attack both CBS and President Trump.
What’s really happening here is that Colbert didn’t want to have Crockett on his show, and that’s why he pulled the Talarico interview and put it on his YouTube. Trump’s FCC had nothing to do with it.