Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., told Newsmax Friday that one of the issues she's considering, as a member of the House weaponization subcommittee, is "the extent to which the government is working with third parties or acting through surrogates to suppress the First Amendment rights" of American citizens.
"What that means is, from the standpoint of the First Amendment, is that we not only have the right to speak, but we have the right to hear," Hageman said during an appearance on Newsmax's "The Chris Salcedo Show."
"We have the right to listen. We have the right for other people to have a voice so that we can learn what they have to say."
DirecTV customers call toll free at 877-763-9762 to complain, demand Newsmax is returned! Oppose censorship – sign The Petition – Click Here
The Equality State congresswoman said the infringement on these First Amendment protections is "what's obvious with the effort to suppress and take away the voice of Newsmax."
"The Democrats are incapable of discussing and arguing the merits of the issues that are important to the folks of the United States," she said.
"So, instead of engaging in the debate and telling us why it is okay to allow 4.5 or 5 million illegal aliens into this country, as to why it's okay to allow our southern border to have the kind of drugs that we're seeing come across, why it's okay to empower the cartels and to make them fabulously wealthy — instead of having that debate and discussion, they just want to shut down the debate because they know they can't win the argument."
AT&T's DirecTV cut Newsmax's signal Jan. 24, blocking the network from more than 13 million subscribers of the satellite service, DirecTV Stream and U-Verse.
Newsmax is America's fourth highest-rated news network in the cable landscape and a top-20 overall channel that reaches 25 million Americans weekly, according to the Nielsen ratings.
While DirecTV said it dropped the popular network due to "cost-cutting" measures, the platform also carries 22 left-leaning news channels, many of which draw considerably lower ratings than Newsmax, and all of which get paid license fees.
DirecTV has claimed Newsmax was demanding "excessive fees" that would amount to "tens of millions" of dollars. Newsmax has denied that, saying it is seeking an approximate fee of $1 per cable subscriber per year, which is among the lowest requested fees in cable.
"This was never about the fees being excessive," Christopher Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax, said. "DirecTV's position has always been that Newsmax of all cable news channels should never get any cable fee whatsoever, not one penny."
DirecTV issued a statement that it wants Newsmax back on its service, but on its terms.
Consequently, Ruddy said there has been no real negotiation or no flexibility provided by DirecTV in its refusal to pay carriage fees.
DirecTV customers call toll free at 877-763-9762 to complain, demand Newsmax is returned! Oppose censorship – sign The Petition – Click Here
After article text:
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.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.