Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Newsmax on Wednesday night the decision by DirecTV to deplatform the conservative news network is a "manifestation of political bias."
Earlier Wednesday, Cruz and three other Republican senators — Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, and Mike Lee of Utah — wrote a letter to DirecTV and its controlling shareholders, AT&T, and TPG, to voice concerns about the recent decision to drop Newsmax.
"I'm a big fan of Newsmax," Cruz told "On The Record With Greta Van Susteren." "I think Newsmax does a terrific job. I am deeply, deeply concerned about censorship, censorship across the board, censorship by Big Tech, censorship by big media.
DirecTV customers call toll free at 877-763-9762 to complain, demand Newsmax is returned! Oppose censorship – sign The Petition – Click Here
"You look at DirecTV a year ago; there were three major cable news outlets that were right-of-center: Fox News, Newsmax, and One America News Network. In the last year, DirecTV has deplatformed two of the three. I believe that is a manifestation of political bias."
In the senators' letter to DirecTV, they wrote the company's decision to deplatform Newsmax "follows recent revelations of collusion between Big Tech companies and Democrat officials to label conservative speech as 'misinformation' and censor it. The silencing of conservative speech at the request of government officials is a direct assault on free speech and a threat to democracy."
Cruz is the ranking Republican on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; and Graham is the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Cruz said both committees have oversight over the Federal Communications Commission and AT&T.
"We're examining the extent to which this is political bias, the extent to which this is a double standard, and the extent to which this was big business currying favor with Democrats officeholders — trying to silence voices that they're scared of," Cruz said.
Cruz said the answer is not to deplatform conservative speech. He said even though he disagrees with many liberal news networks, he respects their right to voice their opinion and would never call for them to be deplatformed. But the left wing of the Democratic party has considerable sway over corporate media, and their position is to shut down any opposing speech.
"The left today, they don't want to defend their views," Cruz said. "They don't want to engage in substance or the merits or use facts or arguments. They want to use power, and they want to use money to silence anyone who dares disagree.
"And I have to tell you, there are millions of Texans, millions of people all across America who watch Newsmax, who value your coverage and who, right now, DirecTV and AT&T are saying, 'We don't care about your choices and your preferences. We want to silence voices that we disagree with.'"
AT&T's move comes despite Newsmax being the fourth highest-rated cable news channel in the U.S., a top 20 channel overall, and watched by 25 million Americans on cable alone.
Actions to Take Now
1. DirecTV customers call toll free at 877-763-9762 to complain, demand Newsmax is back on air!
2. Call your congressman or senator at 202-224-3121 and demand they stop AT&T/DirecTV's censorship of NEWSMAX — ask them to give you a date on the hearings!
3. Go to our online petition and get more info: iWantNewsmax.com.