Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. prodded the Federal Communications Commission last year to move more quickly on requests by a Maryland media firm closely linked to the company that later offered him discount air travel in his gubernatorial campaign.
Noting that he sat on the subcommittee overseeing the FCC and the telecommunications industry, Republican Ehrlich inquired in April 2001 about the status of the proposed purchase of 14 television stations by Baltimore County-based Sinclair Broadcast Group. He said he understood the Rev. Jesse Jackson opposed the applications.
In a second letter May 21, 2001, Ehrlich and Rep. Steve Largent of Oklahoma warned FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell that they would pursue a congressional investigation if a "political agenda" was found to have contributed to any delay. The FCC regulates the broadcast media, and its approval is required for sales of television and radio stations.
According to correspondence obtained by The Sun, FCC attorneys concluded the first letter violated commission rules because it was not sent to all interested parties in the case.
Ehrlich spokesman Paul Schurick late yesterday characterized the congressman's actions on behalf of Sinclair as "vigorous constituent service. ... It was going to bat for a constituent, as Bob has done thousands of times."
The governor-elect's spokesman said Ehrlich considered the letters proper when he sent them and feels the same today. The violation of FCC procedural rules has been remedied, Shurick said.
Ehrlich's queries to the FCC stemmed from a proposed series of transactions that would allow Sinclair to purchase a group of television stations - including WNUV-TV in Baltimore - despite federal regulations limiting the number of stations a company can own in smaller markets. Sinclair already owns WBFF-TV in Baltimore.
Questions had been raised about the seller's relationship to Sinclair. But company officials argued that the transactions, proposed in 1998, were being allowed to languish without a legitimate reason.
FCC regulations recommend that such a decision be made within months; some deals are reviewed for much longer.
Company officials contend that the Clinton administration held up approval because Jackson had clashed over minority ownership issues with Edwin Edwards, the black Pittsburgh executive whose company, Glencairn, held the title to WNUV. The majority owner of Glencairn is Carolyn Smith, the mother of the Smith brothers who hold a controlling stake in Sinclair Broadcast.
Mark E. Hyman, Sinclair's vice president for corporate and public affairs, said FCC staffers told him "they didn't want to approve it for political reasons, but they had no grounds to disapprove it. So they could accomplish the same thing by letting it sit."
The FCC ruled late last year that Sinclair did exercise illegal control over Glencairn, which was ostensibly a minority-owned partner. Glencairn and Sinclair were fined $40,000 each for violating commission rules, though one member urged stronger penalties.
Still, the FCC approved Sinclair's application to purchase the 14 television stations. The FCC approval is the subject of an appeal in federal court.
On at least four other occasions during his eight years in the House of Representatives, Ehrlich, who represents much of Baltimore County, wrote to urge FCC officials to make policy decisions that would aid Sinclair.
The letters, two of which were signed with other lawmakers, advocated strengthening the digital signals of affiliates of the smaller networks - like those Sinclair owns. The letters also called for the agency to allow companies such as Sinclair to continue running stations for other owners.
The relationship between Ehrlich and Sinclair has drawn added scrutiny during the past week, since The Sun detailed the largess of the Smith family toward the governor-elect.
Ehrlich made eight flights during and immediately after his gubernatorial campaign on a helicopter owned by Whirlwind Aviation Inc., a company set up by Sinclair director and senior executive J. Duncan Smith.
After a reporter's inquiry, campaign officials produced bills for the flights at a reduced rate of $1,000 an hour, and acknowledged they had erred in not listing the flights on state-mandated financial reports. Whirlwind usually charges $2,500 an hour for use of the six-passenger executive helicopter.
Yesterday, Schurick said that the campaign committee had decided against paying the discounted amount, and instead would pay $2,450 an hour for a total of $34,300.
But Schurick said that total will be reduced by $7,700, by listing that amount as in-kind contributions from Whirlwind to Ehrlich's campaign committee and that of Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele. Schurick said the Ehrlich committee already had made payments to Whirlwind of $24,300.
When questioned last week about the $1,000-an-hour fee, Ehrlich aides said that figure had been reviewed by campaign committee attorneys who deemed it was a proper amount.
Ehrlich has been the recipient of contributions from others with links to Sinclair. Campaign finance records show that J. Duncan Smith gave at least $2,000 to his state committee since 2000, and other family members have given at least $4,000 more. Since 1997, Sinclair executives or board members and their family members have contributed more than $200,000 to Republican candidates and causes on the Maryland and federal levels. During Ehrlich's 1996 campaign for Congress, Smith family members donated more than $9,000.
James Browning, executive director of Common Cause of Maryland, said the letters to the FCC, coupled with the helicopter rides, "seems like a favor for a favor. It's ironic that Ehrlich used the helicopter while campaigning against 'a culture of corruption' in Maryland."
Larry Noble, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, said the letters and helicopter rides "appear to be a classic case that at the least raises a yellow flag."
Schurick said any attempt to link the letters to the helicopter rides was "absurd. That's a ridiculous suggestion."
The first letter to FCC chairman Powell was sent by Ehrlich on April 12 last year. Mentioning the pending cases, Ehrlich wrote, "It is my understanding the Reverend Jesse Jackson and Rainbow/PUSH Coalition has objected to these applications."
Ehrlich continued, "I have been frustrated by the extraordinary length of time and delays on applications filed at the FCC under your predecessor, Bill Kennard. I reiterate my concern for unnecessary delays on pending applications, especially if the delay is for political, not policy reasons."
An FCC attorney replied that the letter would be sent to all the interested parties under rules "which are intended to ensure both fairness and the appearance of fairness in Commission proceedings."
"While we regret any inconvenience this may cause, please appreciate that the ex parte rules are necessary to ensure fairness to all of the parties," John Riffer, FCC assistant general counsel, wrote in his May 7, 2001, reply to Ehrlich. A similar letter from Oklahoma Rep. Steve Largent, whose district included Sinclair outlets, received a nearly identical response.
Ehrlich and Largent underscored their concerns in a joint letter May 21, pointing to Jackson as "the cause of the FCC's unexplainably endless delays on certain pending applications."
"If the FCC application process is being misused for political, or perhaps, a personal financial agenda, as alleged, we will not hesitate to call for a congressional investigation into this matter," their letter stated.