A former FCC commissioner claims that Chairman Brendan Carr is using the agency to intimidate ABC and punish speech disfavored by the Trump administration. A lawsuit filed by Disney argues that the early review of ABC's broadcast licenses is an unconstitutional intimidation campaign, while a bipartisan group of former FCC officials agrees that the action is an "assault on free speech." The investigation, led by Carr, is based on complaints from President Trump about ABC's news coverage, including fact-checking and anti-Trump commentary. The process could drag on for years, with regulatory threats already having an impact on ABC's programming, including the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel's show and a ban on interviews with political candidates on The View.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-26,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), led by Chairman Brendan Carr, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, is reviewing the broadcast licenses of eight TV stations owned by ABC. This unprecedented move has sparked concerns that the FCC is trying to punish ABC for its critical coverage of Trump and his administration. The review is part of a larger effort by Trump to intimidate broadcasters who don't toe the line, with 24 such threats made during his first term. Carr claims the review is related to ABC's "diversity, equity, and inclusion" programs, but many are calling it an attack on free speech. A federal lawsuit filed by Disney argues that this action is unconstitutional and has already had a chilling effect on broadcast journalism. A bipartisan group of former FCC officials agrees, saying the agency is launching an assault on free speech under the guise of regulatory process.
Written for “Brendan Carr ABC Criticism Controversy” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Last April, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it was reviewing the broadcast licenses held by ABC's eight network-owned TV stations years before they were scheduled for renewal.
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they → announce → renewal
The FCC had not conducted an early review of any broadcast license in more than half a century, and it had never done so simultaneously for all the stations operated by a particular network.
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it → conduct → network
That unprecedented action, ABC and its parent company, Disney, argue in a federal lawsuit filed last week, is part of an unconstitutional intimidation campaign that has already had a chilling impact on broadcast journalism.
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that → argue → journalism
A bipartisan group of former FCC officials, including commissioners appointed by Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, agrees that the agency has launched "an assault on free speech disguised as regulatory process" to "punish speech disfavored by the Trump administration."
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agency → include → administration
President Donald Trump has been threatening to yank the licenses of broadcasters who irk him since his first term.
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who → threaten → term
But this time around, the FCC's Trump-appointed chairman, Brendan Carr, seems eager to act on that vindictive impulse.
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chairman → appoint → impulse
Carr portrays the ABC review as a response to "diversity, equity, and inclusion" programs that may qualify as "unlawful discrimination."
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that → portray → discrimination
But he has made it clear that the FCC also is considering the broader question of whether ABC's stations are serving "the public interest," a vague statutory mandate that he views as a license to override freedom of the press.
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he → make → press
The president's beef with ABC includes news coverage he views as overwhelmingly negative, its fact-checking during a 2024 presidential debate, anti-Trump commentary on shows such as The View and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and the network's refusal to air his July 16 primetime speech, which followed a long line of similar calls by TV networks under prior administrations.
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which → include → administrations
Carr, who routinely amplifies such complaints, agrees that they demand the FCC's attention.
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they → amplify → attention
Shortly after taking office, Carr reopened an FCC investigation of ABC's allegedly biased debate moderation.
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Carr → take → moderation
Last September, Carr threatened ABC stations with fines or license revocation if they failed to punish Kimmel for suggesting that conservative activist Charlie Kirk's assassin was a Trump supporter.
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assassin → threaten → Kimmel
Carr, who announced the early review of ABC's licenses the day after Trump and his wife objected to a joke Kimmel had made on his show, says the network's decision against broadcasting Trump's speech will figure in that process, which could drag on for years.
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which → announce → years
Carr also has threatened to rescind The View's longstanding "bona fide news exemption" from the FCC's "equal time" rule, which in practice would amount to a ban on interviews with political candidates.
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which → threaten → candidates
Such regulatory threats have an observable impact.
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threats → have → impact
ABC and its affiliates immediately met Carr's demands by suspending Kimmel's show for a week last fall, The View has stopped interviewing political candidates, and ABC says it carried Trump's whole speech on its streaming channel only because it was worried about antagonizing the FCC.
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it → meet → FCC
The effects extend beyond ABC.
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effects → extend → ABC
Once TV networks understand that the FCC's objections to their reporting or editorial judgments can pose an existential threat to the stations they operate, they are apt to think twice before making decisions that might upset the president.
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that → understand → president
"Through this proceeding," the former FCC officials say, the commission "seeks to censor Disney's and ABC's speech and send a chilling message to all broadcasters: carry speech we don't like at your peril."
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we → say → peril
Carr, an avowed First Amendment champion, improbably claims he is trying to "re-empower local TV stations" by "reminding them" about their "unique public interest obligations."
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It is hard to see how threatening to put broadcasters out of business empowers them to do anything but kowtow to the president.
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them → see → president
"It's not our role to be the speech police," Carr told Politico last month.
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Carr → tell → Politico
Yet Carr, who brags that Trump is "winning" his fight against "the fake news media," clearly sees himself as a warrior in that battle, which conflates "the public interest" with the president's personal grievances.
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which → brag → grievances
