For months, the Walt Disney Company and President Trump’s Federal Communications Commission have traded accusations in a battle over the company’s free speech rights and its local broadcast stations. On Tuesday morning, Disney lawyers are expected to ask a judge in U.S. District Court in Washington to prevent the F.C.C. from undertaking an unusual, early review of the broadcast licenses of the eight stations the company owns and operates.
Disney, which owns ABC, has called the review — and possible revocation — of the licenses an existential threat to its operations and an “extraordinary assault” on its First Amendment rights. The F.C.C., which is run by a Trump appointee, Brendan Carr, will ask the judge to throw out the lawsuit because the agency has yet to make a decision on the fate of the licenses. The showdown is the latest salvo in Mr.
Trump’s campaign to punish media companies, which has included barring news organizations from the White House, enacting reporting restrictions, suing news outlets and, in the case of the broadcast networks, unleashing the regulatory power of the federal government. ABC has been in the cross hairs of the Trump administration for well over a year, with Mr. Carr scrutinizing the network’s daytime talk show, “The View,” and its late-night program “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” The F.C.C. took its boldest step in April when it announced that it would review Disney’s eight local broadcast licenses in cities including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Philadelphia.
Under communications law, stations operate under the purview of the F.C.C., with licenses that are renewed every eight years. None of ABC’s station licenses are up for review until 2028 at the earliest. (Most are valid until 2030 and 2031.) The bar is exceedingly high for the F.C.C. to strip away licenses, and it has never launched such a broad challenge to a major network’s owned stations. Carr has said the review stems from an investigation into Disney’s diversity and inclusion employment practices.
Disney’s lawyers were quick to point out that Mr. Carr took the action immediately after Mr. Trump publicly expressed anger at a monologue joke by Mr.
ABC and its late-night program “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” have been in the cross hairs of the F.C.C. for over a year.Credit...Patrick T. Fallon/ — Under agency rules, Mr. Carr can inflict plenty of pain on the company while the F.C.C. undergoes its review.
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