ABC Has Filed a First Amendment Lawsuit Against the FCC After Trump Admin Goes After Network | Just Jared - Celebrity News and Gossip

ABC is suing the FCC (Federal Communications Commission)!

The Disney-owned network filed a First Amendment lawsuit on Tuesday (August 18), claiming the commission’s investigations and regulatory actions are part of the Trump Administration’s “retaliatory campaign” to restrict the network’s free speech, according to Deadline.

Filed in Washington, DC, the lawsuit is looking to “halt a proceeding in which the agency and its chairman, Brendan Carr, demanded that it put its eight stations up for early license renewal. That followed Donald Trump‘s attacks on the network, including its late-night host, Jimmy Kimmel.”

“Acting through the Federal Communications Commission, the Administration has waged a retaliatory campaign against ABC for a single reason: it disapproves of what ABC broadcasts,” the lawsuit reads.

ABC’s legal team writes that given the “existential threat,” they had “no choice but to seek redress from the judicial branch” and there were “no alternative means to eliminate these ongoing and immediate threats other than total capitulation to the administration’s demands.”

Last September, following comments about Charlie Kirk, Jimmy Kimmel‘s late-night talk show on ABC was pulled from the air, with Donald Trump calling for ABC to lose its license on multiple occasions since then. In January, Jimmy said that the FCC was threatening his show.

In their lawsuit, ABC says they anticipated the FCC would be taking action soon after a public comment proceeding on whether to renew their stations licenses.

“Any FCC adjudication would be a charade. The Commission cannot lawfully grant renewal this early in the license terms—the only outcomes on the table are adverse to Plaintiffs,” ABC said in the lawsuit. “At one extreme, the Commission may intentionally prolong the adjudicative process, miring ABC in years of costly litigation, with the threat of adverse action ever present and with every editorial judgment shadowed by the prospect of provoking the Administration into further retaliation.”

The legal team adds, “At another extreme, the Commission may use the hearing to deny license renewal or immediately revoke the Stations’ licenses, forcing Plaintiffs off the air entirely, as the President has repeatedly demanded. In either scenario, the Administration accomplishes its goal of eliminating a perceived media critic: either it gets Plaintiffs to fall in line, or it silences them if they refuse.”

A spokesperson for the FCC has released a statement in response to the lawsuit, saying, “All broadcasters have a legal obligation to operate in the public interest—even Disney.  The FCC has been examining claims that Disney engaged in illegal DEI discrimination for over a year.”

“Disney is obviously very concerned about the FCC’s proceeding, as evidenced by their ongoing campaign of disinformation as well as their decision to ask a court to stop the FCC from further pursuing matters.  The FCC will continue to follow the facts and law wherever they lead,” they added.

Under Brendan Carr‘s leadership, the FCC has also launched investigations against Comcast and NBCUniversal over DEI practices, and CBS over its 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris.

Posted To:ABC Brendan Carr FCC Politics Television