Disney accuses Trump officials of ‘blatant violations’ of constitution amid FCC battle

Attorneys for ABC and its parent Disney asked a federal judge on Tuesday to stop the Federal Communications Commission from pursuing an accelerated review of the network's eight local station licenses, calling the effort unconstitutional retaliation for coverage the administration dislikes. The hearing was the first in a suit filed in August against the agency, which is led by Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, according to The Guardian.

Attorney Beth Wilkinson said the network is already altering its editorial choices out of fear of reprisal. She said ABC has stopped booking politicians on The View, streamed a July Trump speech rather than broadcasting it, and put a Jimmy Kimmel interview with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico on YouTube because the FCC has no authority there. She also pointed to earlier threats by Trump and Carr against network licenses.

Dimitar P Georgiev, for the FCC, said nothing suggests the order changed ABC's editorial decisions, argued the case belongs in the appeals court, and described the renewal process as a tool for speeding up an equal opportunity inquiry. Judge Loren AliKhan appeared skeptical.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Guardian’s reporting. Read the full story at The Guardian →