ABC is formally accusing the federal government of using broadcast regulations to settle a political score. In a filing made public Thursday, the Washington Post reports, the Disney-owned TV network says the FCC's early review of eight ABC station licenses is "unconstitutional retaliation" driven by President Trump's hostility toward the network's coverage, not legitimate oversight. "There is no question why the Commission is singling out these eight stations," the company's lawyers wrote, citing Trump's repeated calls to pull ABC's licenses.
An FCC spokesperson countered that the agency will enforce the law "regardless of any disinformation campaign." The commission's lone Democrat, Anna Gomez, ripped the review as a "campaign of censorship and control," arguing that the FCC has no mandate to referee political viewpoints. The fight follows months of clashes over diversity initiatives, The View and equal-time rules, and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel's on-air remarks following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. "The retaliation against ABC is a signal to every media company in the country: accommodate the Administration's view of what news coverage should look like or pay the price," the network said, per the Hill.
The government has to put together a winning case that the stations have a history of rule violations to be able to take away their right to broadcast, per the New York Times. ABC says more than 95% of roughly 150,000 public comments so far back ABC, per the Post, and a bipartisan group of former FCC leaders—three of them Republican ex-chairs—have called the review an "assault on free speech disguised as regulatory process." Disney wants the FCC challenge thrown out.
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