House Democratic leaders blasted FCC Chairman Brendan Carr for a “corrupt abuse of power” and said that media companies acted in “cowardice” in the decisions that led to Jimmy Kimmel getting pulled from ABC‘s line up.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Whip Katherine Clark, Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, Caucus Vice Chair Ted Lieu, Assistant Leader Joe Neguse and DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene, in a joint statement on Thursday, also suggested that the companies may have engaged in a “corrupt pay-to-play” scheme.
“Brendan Carr, the so-called Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has engaged in the corrupt abuse of power. He has disgraced the office he holds by bullying ABC, the employer of Jimmy Kimmel, and forcing the company to bend the knee to the Trump administration. FCC Chair Brendan Carr should resign immediately.
“Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s war on the First Amendment is blatantly inconsistent with American values. Media companies, such as the one that suspended Mr. Kimmel, have a lot to explain. The censoring of artists and cancellation of shows is an act of cowardice. It may also be part of a corrupt pay-to-play scheme. House Democrats will make sure the American people learn the truth, even if that requires the relentless unleashing of congressional subpoena power. This will not be forgotten.”
Kimmel said on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday, “We had some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and with everything they can to score political points from it.”
On Wednesday, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatened ABC with some kind of agency action over Kimmel’s remark, contending that the late-night host was claiming that the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s assassination was part of the MAGA movement. Carr said on Benny Johnson’s podcast, “We can do this the easy way, or these companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
House later, Nexstar, the largest station group in the country, announced that it was pulling Kimmel’s show from its schedule “for the foreseeable future.” Nexstar is seeking FCC approval for its proposed acquisition of Tegna’s television stations, while it also wants to agency to repeal long-standing ownership rules that limit the amount of outlets that one company can own. Sinclair Broadcast Group, which also is lobbying the FCC to do away with the ownership rules, has been exploring merger possibilities.
Soon after Nexstar’s announcement, ABC said that it was pulling Kimmel’s show indefinitely. The Walt Disney Co., parent of ABC, is seeking Trump administration sign off on ESPN’s proposed acquisition of NFL Network, and a plan where the league takes a 10% ownership stake.
Shortly after ABC’s announcement on Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told CNN that the Trump administration pressure on ABC and the stations was “outrageous.”
“It’s a page right out of Xi’s playbook,” Schumer said, referring to the Chinese leader.
“This is just despicable, disgusting and against Democratic values. Trump and his allies seem to want to shut down speech that they don;t like to hear. That is what autocracies do.”
An FCC spokesperson did not return a request for comment.
Other prominent Democrats also have weighed in. California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X, “There is no such thing as free speech under Donald Trump’s reign.”
He also pointed to one of Carr’s X/Twitter posts from 2022. then an FCC commissioner, Carr wrote, “President Biden is right. Political satire is one of the oldest and most important forms of free speech. It challenges those in power while using humor to draw more people in to the discussion. That’s why people in influential positions have always targeted it for censorship.”
“This aged well,” Newsom wrote.
