ABC sues the FCC to stop an early review of its TV licenses

ABC accused the Trump Administration of waging "a retaliatory campaign" because it doesn't like what the network broadcasts.

ABC is asking a court to halt an early license renewal process for eight stations it owns. In April, the FCC told the network to file renewal applications within 30 days. The agency issued the order one day after President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump called for Jimmy Kimmel to be fired over remarks he made on his show. (ABC owner Disney previously suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live for several days after Trump attacked comments the late-night host made following the assassination of Charlie Kirk.)

ABC's licenses weren't due for renewal for at least 2.5 years and, in one case, over five years, according to the network. ABC submitted the applications — which it says normally take months to prepare — "under protest" ahead of the deadline.

"Until the day before that order issued [sic], the Commission had not called for a renewal application ahead of schedule in more than half a century," the lawsuit states. "Nor had it ever demanded simultaneous early renewal applications from a group of stations commonly owned with a single broadcast network — much less stations with the record of public service and award-winning journalism like these Stations. In a contemporaneous interview, the Chairman did not mince words when explaining the Commission's decision to ramp up its pressure on ABC: 'If you didn't take us seriously, now you should.'"

The suit also notes that Trump called for the licenses to be revoked after ABC declined to air a live primetime address he gave last month. He said the same thing about NBC's licenses. The networks carried the address on their streaming channels. In the filing, ABC says it "considered the risk of resulting Administration retaliation" over how it handled the broadcast before deciding to stream it on ABC News Live. It added that FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the agency would consider "ABC's decision not to broadcast the July 16 address as part of its review of the stations' renewal applications."

The complaint states that the Trump Administration "has steadily increased the pressure on ABC" for months. Its parent company has been the target of FCC probes too. Carr opened an investigation into Disney's diversity, equity and inclusion practices last year, accusing the company of violating equal employment opportunity rules. The FCC is also investigating ABC show The View following an interview with James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for this November's Senate election in Texas.

"The consequences of the Administration's campaign against free speech reach well beyond ABC," the lawsuit states. "If the Administration gets its way, the message to every media company in the country will be unmistakable: tell only the stories the Administration deems favorable, or face the coercive machinery of the federal government. In such a world, the press could in no way be described as free. The FCC Chairman has left little doubt that this is his goal.