ABC this week accused the Trump administration of violating its free speech rights with a regulatory action focused on the talk show \u201cThe View,\u201d according to a filing submitted to the Federal Communications Commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the filing, the Disney-owned network blasted the federal government for creating a \u201cchilling effect\u201d on First Amendment freedoms with an investigation of whether \u201cThe View\u201d broke a requirement that broadcast stations give equal time to political candidates for the same office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The filing is Disney\u2019s most pointed legal salvo against the Trump administration since the president returned to the White House last year and began sharply criticizing American broadcast networks over their on-air content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In February, the FCC said it was looking into whether \u201cThe View\u201d violated equal-time rules after an appearance by James Talarico, who was then running for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in Texas. (He went on to win the primary.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe FCC has an enforcement action underway on that,\u201d FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, told reporters at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ABC fired back in its filing this week, insisting that \u201cThe View\u201d airs under an exemption to the equal-time rule \u201cgranted to it more than twenty years ago.\u201d ABC said \u201cit has never been disputed\u201d that \u201cThe View\u201d is a so-called \u201cbona fide\u201d news show, meaning it is not subject to the equal-time standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a statement, the FCC said in part: \u201cThe equal time law encourages more speech and empowers voters to decide the outcome of elections. The FCC will review Disney\u2019s assertion that \u2018The View\u2019 is a \u2018bona fide news program\u2019 and thus exempt from the political equal time rules.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ABC\u2019s filing was registered on behalf of KTRK-TV, the network\u2019s owned station in Houston. ABC\u2019s lawyers said the Houston station was ordered to file a formal request asking whether \u201cThe View\u201d qualified for the exemption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Commission\u2019s order to file this Petition for Declaratory Ruling is unprecedented, beyond the Commission\u2019s authority, and counterproductive to the Commission\u2019s stated goal of encouraging free speech and open political discussion,\u201d ABC said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Commission\u2019s actions threaten to upend decades of settled law and practice and chill critical protected speech, both with respect to \u2018The View\u2019 and more broadly,\u201d the network said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSome may dislike certain \u2014 or even most \u2014 of the viewpoints expressed on \u2018The View\u2019 or similar shows. Such dislike, however, cannot justify using regulatory processes to restrict those views,\u201d ABC added elsewhere in the 52-page document.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe View\u201d is co-hosted by a panel of women who interview politicians and celebrities. Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar, two of the show\u2019s hosts, regularly criticize the Trump administration and the president, who in turn has publicly blasted them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ABC\u2019s filing highlights that while the FCC has questioned \u201cThe View,\u201d it has not opened inquiries into radio talk shows hosted by conservative allies of the president, including Mark Levin and Glenn Beck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSuch a clear disparity in the treatment of broadcasters that ought to be subject to the same treatment under law raises serious concerns about viewpoint discrimination and retaliatory targeting,\u201d the network wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ABC submitted its petition to the FCC a week after the federal agency, in an unusual move, announced it was launching an early review of the eight broadcast licenses owned and operated by ABC, including stations in Los Angeles and New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The announcement came amid a clash between the White House and ABC over a joke late-night host Jimmy Kimmel made about first lady Melania Trump. Carr has insisted the license review stems from the agency\u2019s probe into Disney\u2019s diversity, equity and inclusion practices \u2014 not \u201cspeech.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The FCC is also investigating DEI practices at Comcast, the parent company of NBC News and its owned stations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anna M. Gomez, the lone Democratic appointee on the three-person FCC panel, praised Disney for \u201cchoosing courage over capitulation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe days of the FCC as a paper tiger are numbered,\u201d Gomez said in a post on X. \u201cWhat the public will remember is who complied in advance and who fought back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n