Mark Levin and Dan Bongino both said that media reports claiming they and other conservative radio show hosts were told by broadcasting company Cumulus Media to stop talking about a fraudulent election on-air or be fired were false, as neither person was contacted by the company.
“The story is not 75% bullshit — it’s 100% bullshit. I don’t even work for Cumulus. I don’t even know who Brian Phillips is. I’ve never even heard of him. The email was never sent to me or anyone on my show,” Bongino told the Washington Examiner, saying Cumulus only sells ad slots on his show.
“Even if I got that email, I wouldn’t have listened to it,” he added. “I talk about whatever I want, when I want, how I want.”
On Monday, outlets across the nation reported that Cumulus Media had told conservative hosts that they could no longer speak about how “the election has not ended.”
Levin said on his radio show Monday evening that he, too, never received that memo from the executive vice president of content for Cumulus, Brian Phillips.
“Now, here’s the problem. I never got a memo. I never got any memo. Not from Brian Phillips, executive vice president of Content for Cumulus, not from anybody,” Levin said on his radio show Monday evening.
“Nobody threatened me. Nobody told me what I could and couldn’t say. Because if they did, you’d be hearing about it, but they didn’t. They didn’t have an insight in anything. I don’t promote violence. But the Washington Post has a narrative, Paul Farhi, he has a narrative, he’s also a liar,” he continued.
“This piece in the Washington Post by Paul Farhi,” Levin said. “Hi. I’ve been on the radio almost 20 years. This guy writes for the Washington Post. ... He’s never spoken to me once. Not once.”
Levin read a portion of Farhi’s story, which begins: “After months of stoking anger about alleged election fraud, one of America’s largest talk-radio companies has decided on an abrupt change of direction.”
A portion of the memo that was reportedly sent by Philips was also included in the piece.
“We need to help induce national calm NOW,” Phillips is quoted as writing, saying that its program syndication arm “will not tolerate any suggestion that the election has not ended. The election has been resolved, and there are no alternate acceptable ‘paths.’”
“If you transgress this policy, you can expect to separate from the company immediately,” the memo read.
Cumulus did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
