Washington – Investigators at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting concluded Tuesday that its former chairman had repeatedly broken federal law and the organization’s own regulations in a campaign to combat what he saw as liberal bias.
A scathing report by the corporation’s inspector general described a dysfunctional organization that had violated the Public Broadcasting Act, which created the corporation and was written to insulate programming decisions from politics.
The former chairman, Kenneth Tomlinson, who was ousted from the board two weeks ago when it was presented with the details of the report in a closed session, has said he sought to enforce a provision of the broadcasting act meant to ensure objectivity and balance in programming. But in the process, the report said, Tomlinson repeatedly crossed statutory boundaries that had set up the corporation as a shield to protect public radio and television from political interference.
The report said Tomlinson had violated federal law by being heavily involved in getting more than $4 million for a program featuring writers of the conservative editorial page of The Wall Street Journal. It said he had imposed a “political test” to recruit a new president of the corporation. And it said his decision to hire Republican consultants to defeat legislation violated contracting rules.
The corporation received $400 million from Congress this year to finance an array of programs on public television and radio. Its future financing has come under heavy criticism, particularly from conservative lawmakers. Its board is selected by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
In a statement distributed with the report, Tomlinson rejected its conclusions. He said any suggestion that he had violated his duties or the law “is malicious and irresponsible” and that the inspector general had opted “for politics over good judgment.”
“Unfortunately, the inspector general’s preconceived and unjustified findings will only help to maintain the status quo and other reformers will be discouraged from seeking change,” said Tomlinson, who has repeatedly defended his decisions as part of an effort to restore balance to programming.