WASHINGTON—A letter from Democratic Senators to the Federal Communications Commission sharply criticized the agency for acting as a “roving press censor” and demanded that the FCC submit documents and answer questions about its role in the decision by ABC to indefinitely suspend “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
“We are outraged by your comments yesterday on a podcast suggesting that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would take action against ABC, its parent company Disney, and its affiliates, over comments made by comedian Jimmy Kimmel on his late-night show,” the Senators wrote. “It is not simply unacceptable for the FCC Chairman to threaten a media organization because he does not like the content of its programming—it violates the First Amendment that you claim to champion. The FCC’s role in overseeing the public airwaves does not give it the power to act as a roving press censor, targeting broadcasters based on their political commentary. But under your leadership, the FCC is being weaponized to do precisely that.”
In response to the criticism of FCC Chair Brendan Carr, President Donald Trump praised him, as a “patriot” and “tough guy” while repeating his previously expressed views that broadcasters airing criticism of him should lose their broadcast licenses.
"They give me only bad publicity or press," Trump said on Air Force One on Thursday in comments reported by ABC News and others. "And I mean, they're getting a license, I would think maybe their license should be taken away. It will be up to Brendan Carr."
U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which oversees the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), senior member of the Committee, Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Telecommunications and Media Subcommittee, and all Democratic members of the Committee sent the letter to FCC Chair Carr.
The letter was also signed by Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Senators Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the Senators reported.
“Under your leadership, the FCC appears to be discarding Congress’s clear directive in the Communications Act to ensure broadcasters act in the ‘public interest’—and is instead requiring them to act in ‘Trump’s interest.’” the letter continued. “This approach is an anathema to the Constitution. The consequences of your comments were quickly apparent. Hours later, Nexstar—a major owner of ABC affiliates that has a significant merger pending before the FCC—announced that it would take Kimmel off the air. Soon thereafter, Disney announced it was indefinitely suspending his show altogether. This is precisely what government censorship looks like.”
The letter also demanded answers to three questions by Sept. 25:
- "How is the FCC defining the “public interest” standard to which broadcasters must adhere? To the extent that the FCC has adopted some new ideological or political neutrality test, how is the FCC defining ideological or political bias?"
- "Did you, your staff, or any FCC staff have any communication with Disney, ABC, or their affiliates about Jimmy Kimmel, his Monday monologue, or his show between Monday, September 15, and today? If yes, we expect you to produce copies of all such communications.
- "You publicly stated that ABC and Disney could “do this the easy way or the hard way.” Please detail the “easy way” and the “hard way” you were referencing in making this statement."
In an Sept. 18 interview reported on by Policyband, Carr denied that he had called Nexstar, Sinclair and ABC and said he had not put any personal pressure on them.
In a Sept. 17 interview, he did threaten to take away licenses of ABC affiliates who aired the show.
