Key Points:
- Senate President Warren Petersen asks FCC to investigate KAET-TV
- KAET-TV gave Katie Hobbs an interview despite her refusal to debate Kari Lake
- Petersen claims that move violated an agreement between KAET-TV and the Citizens Clean Elections Commission
Senate President Warren Petersen is asking the Federal Communications Commission to investigate KAET-TV, the Phoenix PBS affiliate, with an eye on revoking the station’s license.
In a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, the Gilbert Republican said the station acted improperly in its 2022 decision to give a half-hour interview to Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Katie Hobbs even after she refused to debate GOP foe Kari Lake. That, he said, violated the agreement KAET had with the Citizens Clean Elections Commission to deny such an opportunity to those who would not face their foes.
Lake was also given an opportunity for a 30-minute interview with Ted Simons, the host of the station’s public affairs program, but she refused after hearing that KAET was giving Hobbs an interview despite her refusal to debate.
