Jon Swaine

One of the brothers who control Sinclair Broadcasting has donated more than $10,000 to Rep Greg Gianforte (R-MT), the congressman who assaulted a journalist and then lied to police about it. Robert E Smith, whose company is the biggest owner of television stations in the US, gave a maximum $5,400 campaign contribution to Rep Greg Gianforte. He did the same in 2017.

The chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group met President Donald Trump at the White House during a visit to pitch a potentially lucrative new product to administration officials. David D Smith briefed officials in 2017 on a system that would enable authorities to broadcast direct to any American’s phone. Smith said his White House meeting was not financially motivated. The Federal Communications Commission decided in November 2017 to make incorporating chips voluntary.