As FCC chair Michael Powell ordered an investigation into whether conservative commentator Armstrong Williams broke any laws by not disclosing he was paid to tout Bush policy, Democratic senators want the propaganda investigation to broaden.
The senators want to know whether little-known payments made by the Education Department to Williams in exchange for his talking up the No Child Left Behind Act violate propaganda laws, and whether other departments have engaged in similar acts.
"This has all the makings of political payola," said North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan.
Williams, who is black, was paid in part to persuade other black media figures to talk about Bush's No Child Left Behind Act, according to his contract.
