ABC Accuses FCC of Violating First Amendment in Blistering Filing
ABC is fighting back against President Trump’s Federal Communications Commission, accusing the agency of violating its First Amendment rights.
In a filing Friday, the TV network said that the FCC’s latest probe into the TV show The View created a “chilling effect” on free speech by punishing political content the Trump administration disagrees with.
“Some may dislike certain—or even most—of the viewpoints expressed on ‘The View’ or similar shows. Such dislike, however, cannot justify using regulatory processes to restrict those views,” ABC said in the filing.
The FCC set its sights on The View after a February episode with Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico of Texas. The agency questioned whether the show was exempt from the equal time rule, which requires news broadcast stations to give equal time to political candidates. According to ABC’s filing, the FCC ordered the company’s Houston station KTRK-TV to file a request with the agency asking if the show qualified for an exemption from the equal time rule.
The network claimed that this went too far; The View received an exemption in 2002 which had not been challenged once in the following 24 years. It called the demand to file for a new exemption “unprecedented, beyond the Commission’s authority and counterproductive to the Commission’s stated goal of encouraging free speech and open political discussion.”
Two weeks ago, the FCC asked to review the broadcast licenses of eight ABC stations years before they are set to expire, after late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel made a joke about Trump and first lady Melania Trump that angered the president. While the network’s Friday filing doesn’t mention that, it seems to have influenced their new posture against the administration.
In December 2024, ABC paid Trump a $16 million settlement after he sued the network for defamation. Now they appear to be gearing up for a long court battle against the administration that could go to the Supreme Court. ABC is retaining experienced Supreme Court litigator Paul D. Clement, who served as solicitor general under President George W. Bush. It appears that they won’t give in to the Trump administration any more.