Bribery Update: Comcast, Time Warner Pay $132,000 To Honor FCC Commissioner Ahead Of Merger Approval

The Daily Caller reports:

Comcast and Time Warner Cable are shelling out a combined $132,000 to honor Obama-appointed FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn at a September dinner, while at the same time waiting for the agency to green-light a merger worth billions.

Clyburn will receive the Walter Kaitz Foundation’s “diversity advocate” award at the annual dinner, which Comcast is paying $110,000 to sponsor, and Time Warner Cable an additional $22,000, according to a recent Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) blog post.

“I think that the timing is curious,” CREW research director Carrie Levine said in a Politico report. “They’re honoring an FCC commissioner at the exact same time they’re trying to get approval for a merger. And that doesn’t look so good.”

Time Warner Cable, which announced the proposed $45-billion merger in February along with Comcast, made its contribution in May. If approved, the combined companies will control some 40 percent of the country’s broadband market, and about 30 percent of TV subscribers, according to the report.

Yet, Cass Sunstein tells you there's not much conspiracy out there in the world of politics.