FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
New York, April 28, 2026 — The Federal Communications Commission reportedly plans to challenge Disney’s eight licenses for its ABC stations as soon as this afternoon. The news comes after President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump feigned outrage about a joke from late night host Jimmy Kimmel. The FCC is chaired by Brendan Carr, a Trump super-loyalist — known to wear the president’s gilded face as a lapel pin — who has made clear that he views the agency’s role as furthering Trump’s agenda.
The following can be attributed to Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern:
“The First Amendment and the FCC’s mandate do not permit the agency to use broadcast licenses as weapons to punish broadcasters for constitutionally protected content they air. Brendan Carr was once a serious communications lawyer, and has repeatedly and correctly said that the FCC has no role in policing content, whether news reporting or comedians’ late night jokes.
“Carr’s decision to abandon his principles to kiss up to Trump to advance his career does not change the law that Carr knows full-well applies. The FCC is neither the journalism police nor the humor police. This is nothing but illegal jawboning intended to intimidate ABC into kissing the ring.”
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