{"id":3563,"date":"2026-08-04T03:34:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T07:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3563"},"modified":"2026-08-04T03:34:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T07:34:11","slug":"free-press-calls-for-end-to-carrs-unconstitutional-crusade-against-abc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3563","title":{"rendered":"Free Press Calls for End to Carr\u2019s Unconstitutional Crusade Against ABC"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On Wednesday, Free Press called out Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr for engaging in a political crusade against broadcaster ABC that not only violates free speech rights but distorts and weaponizes existing agency rules and procedures in service of a censorial president.<\/p>\n

In a filing in the FCC docket <\/a>regarding early license reviews of eight ABC affiliated and owned stations, Free Press called the proceeding \u201can arbitrary and capricious abuse of power, ordered by Brendan Carr to exact the revenge Donald Trump demands against ABC for exercising its First Amendment rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

In June, Free Press stated in a similar filing<\/a> on the contents of the show The View <\/em>that the agency\u2019s proceeding against ABC stations \u201cnever should have been opened.\u201d It condemned the politicized campaign from the White House and FCC to silence the voices of people who disagree with or challenge the president and his views.<\/p>\n

Chairman Carr has insisted that this bogus proceeding is an investigation into allegations that Disney engaged in \u201cinvidious discrimination.\u201d But the agency has not identified any specific allegations of discrimination by Disney, ABC or its local stations, reads Free Press latest filing<\/a>. \u201cThat Chairman Carr is willing to place Disney\u2019s entire local broadcasting operation in jeopardy without a single specific allegation of unlawful behavior is further evidence of the corruption that undergirds this proceeding and Carr\u2019s reign at the Commission,\u201d Free Press adds. <\/p>\n

Matt Wood<\/strong>, Free Press\u2019 vice president of policy and coauthor of the filing, said:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only just ending to Carr\u2019s circus, and the only way for him to stop trampling the First Amendment freedoms he swore to uphold, is to to close this proceeding now and rescind the trumped-up charges that started it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ridiculous notion expressed by the Trump FCC is that this extraordinary proceeding allows the FCC to conduct an ongoing investigation into Disney\u2019s supposed violations of agency rules. But there\u2019s absolutely nothing about the process of early renewal that would aid that supposed investigation. That inquiry is just a rotten fig leaf to provide cover for Brendan Carr using the FCC\u2019s investigatory powers to harass, intimidate, and punish ABC for its speech. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf the FCC were acting in good faith, it would have conducted and completed a full and fair investigation of Disney\u2019s compliance with existing rules and the law first. But giving Disney due process under the law and respecting its First Amendment rights would not deliver Donald Trump the revenge he seeks, hence the existence of this corrupt, arbitrary and capricious early renewal proceeding.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if Disney had engaged in some kind of discrimination, there\u2019s no reason and no precedent for threatening its broadcast licenses over such behavior. The partisan nature of this whole endeavor couldn\u2019t be clearer. Brendan Carr says not a word about a conservative broadcaster like Sinclair, approving its acquisition of more stations even as that company settles employment discrimination suits with the Trump EEOC. Yet for ABC, Carr\u2019s embarrassing himself again by concocting this utterly shameful censorship campaign on behalf of a petty president.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis kind of capricious law enforcement has no place in a legitimate democracy. The law and U.S. Constitution do not permit Brendan Carr and the FCC to violate Disney\u2019s and the public\u2019s rights because the President\u2019s ego demands it. In its haste to please Trump, the agency has chilled the speech of every licensee, and placed Disney in a lose-lose situation. Even if the FCC does nothing following this pleading cycle, the order for an early license renewal will continue to be a threat to Disney\u2019s licenses, and will undoubtedly alter how broadcasters exercise their First Amendment-protected right to free speech and freedom of the press. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt some level, Carr must know that his claims against ABC are bogus. But legal and statutory integrity aren\u2019t the point with this chairman. Carr is more than happy to browbeat and jawbone broadcasters into silence though his claims have zero legal merit.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Wednesday, Free Press called out Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr for engaging in a political crusade against broadcaster ABC that not only violates free speech rights but distorts and weaponizes existing agency rules and procedures in service of a censorial president. In a filing in the FCC docket regarding early license reviews of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"registered_only","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[742],"class_list":["post-3563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ciencia-y-tecnologia","tag-vr-news-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3563\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}