Overview
- ABC, owned by Disney, filed a federal lawsuit in Washington on Tuesday, August 18, accusing President Donald Trump’s administration and the Federal Communications Commission of running “a campaign of reprisals” against the network.
- The complaint cites the FCC’s April 28 order that forced early reexamination and accelerated renewal filings for several ABC local stations as a concrete example of coercion tied to public calls by the president and first lady to remove host Jimmy Kimmel.
- ABC asks the court to stop the FCC’s actions and threats, arguing those steps amount to government retaliation that violates the First Amendment and could be enjoined by judges.
- Reporting and watchdogs note that the FCC is led by Brendan Carr, described in coverage as a close Trump ally, and that press‑freedom groups such as Reporters Sans Frontières warned in July that license reviews risk being used to punish independent journalism.
- The lawsuit follows months and years of legal fights and settlements between networks and the president and marks a shift from accommodation to legal pushback; the case will test how far regulators can go in reviewing broadcast licenses without crossing constitutional free‑speech limits.