ABC Files First Amendment Lawsuit Against FCC

ABC filed an unprecedented lawsuit against the FCC on Tuesday, claiming that its investigations and regulatory actions are part of a Trump administration “retaliatory campaign” to curb the network’s free speech.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., also seeks to halt a proceeding in which the agency and its chairman, Brendan Carr, demanded that it put its eight stations up for early license renewal. That followed Donald Trump‘s attacks on the network, including its late night host, Jimmy Kimmel.

“Acting through the Federal Communications Commission, the Administration has waged a retaliatory campaign against ABC for a single reason: it disapproves of what ABC broadcasts,” the lawsuit stated.

The lawsuit appears to anticipate the FCC taking action soon following a public comment proceeding on whether to renew the stations licenses. Bloomberg reported that the FCC may issue a hearing designation order, which would kick off an agency process to determine the fate of the licenses, a notoriously lengthy process.

ABC stated in the lawsuit, “Any FCC adjudication would be a charade. The Commission cannot lawfully grant renewal this early in the license terms—the only outcomes on the table are adverse to Plaintiffs. At one extreme, the Commission may intentionally prolong the adjudicative process, miring ABC in years of costly litigation, with the threat of adverse action ever present and with every editorial judgment shadowed by the prospect of provoking the Administration into further retaliation.”

The network’s legal team added, “At another extreme, the Commission may use the hearing to deny license renewal or immediately revoke the Stations’ licenses, forcing Plaintiffs off the air entirely, as the President has repeatedly demanded. In either scenario, the Administration accomplishes its goal of eliminating a perceived media critic: either it gets Plaintiffs to fall in line, or it silences them if they refuse.”

An FCC spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.

The lawsuit names the FCC, Carr and its two commissioners, Olivia Trusty and Anna Gomez. The inclusion of Gomez, the sole Democrat, appears to be for litigation reasons, as the complaint also cites her criticisms of the Republican-controlled agency as waging a “sustained, coordinated campaign of censorship and control.”

The network is seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to halt further action on the early license renewals, as well as an order that the FCC be prohibited from taking actions “to coerce or threaten” the network “with sanctions in an effort to alter their exercise of editorial discretion.”

More to come.