The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has renewed its request for a court to toss a legal challenge filed by the Walt Disney Company and ABC over the agency’s demand that the media giant renew the broadcast licenses of eight television stations earlier than anticipated.
In a new court filing made by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on behalf of the FCC this week, U.S. Attorney General Jeanine Pirro said ABC’s claim that the license renewal demand violated its First Amendment protections are unsupported by the FCC’s actions.
The FCC contends that its demand that ABC renew its broadcast licenses is within the scope of its authority under the law, because it is able to call back TV licenses as a remedy for practices that violate the law or its rules.
Disney and ABC say they are being singled out by the FCC and its Chairman, Brendan Carr, for airing political news interviews that President Donald Trump does not like. Trump appointed Carr to lead the agency nearly two years ago.
Pirro claims ABC improperly attempted to expand the judicial record after both sides completed a briefing on Disney’s request for a preliminary injunction, which would effectively pause the FCC’s action on the matter until the broader case is resolved.
She accused the network of “litigation by ambush” when its attorneys filed additional replies that contained more evidence, which the agencies have not had a chance to examine or respond to.
“Local rule 65.1(c) forecloses litigation by ambush and guarantees the parties have an equal opportunity to develop the record and respond to each other’s arguments,” Pirro wrote, citing a court rule regarding the disclosure of evidence in a legal case.
A motion to strike was filed in tandem with a renewed request by the FCC to toss the case. Pirro argued the Communications Act already protects ABC from the immediate harms it claims to face because any broadcast license under review remains in effect until administrative and judicial proceedings are complete.
The FCC and DOJ say the court should not allow ABC to create a new legal path for redress because doing so would circumvent Congressional intent.
Disney and ABC have argued the review followed repeated criticism of ABC programming by Trump and Carr, including criticism of “The View” and late night host Jimmy Kimmel. ABC said the pressure has already affected The View, making the program more cautious in booking political candidates and in using certain video clips that could be treated as candidate appearances during the FCC’s review.
The FCC has rejected ABC’s claims and said it is acting in the public interest.
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the agency’s lone Democrat, has criticized the review and supported ABC’s decision to sue. Gomez is listed as a defendant in the lawsuit in her official capacity as an FCC commissioner.
