A new piece in the Nation by public broadcasting activist Jerold M. Starr accuses Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) of lying about writing two controversial letters to the FCC in 1999 on behalf of campaign contributor Lowell “Bud” Paxson, regarding “Paxson’s quest to acquire a Pittsburgh television station.” Starr writes:
I don’t know whether Senator John McCain had sex with lobbyist Vickie Iseman, but I do know, first hand, that he broke the rules while doing the bidding of media mogul Lowell “Bud” Paxson, a major contributor to McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign. McCain’s staff lied it about it then and they are inventing new lies even now. […]
At the time, McCain’s staff said to the press that his intervention was appropriate because “there was no formal opposition.” Our opposition had been formal for years. […]
Allegedly, we asked McCain’s staff “to contact the FCC regarding this proceeding.” We had no idea of McCain’s sudden and urgent interest in our local matter until the FCC advised that the commissioners already had voted 3–2 to approve the transfer, at which time McCain’s letters were dropped on us.