FCC Commissioner Rebukes Agency’s Chair, Says ‘We Don’t Have the Authority’ To Retaliate Against Broadcasters
Commissioner Anna Gomez of the Federal Communications Commission said FCC Chair Brendan Carr and the agency do not actually have the authority to revoke broadcasters’ licenses, despite Carr’s threats.
On Wednesday, Carr threatened ABC after Jimmy Kimmel falsely claimed that the suspected killer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk was a right-winger.
“We hit 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,” Kimmel said on Monday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Carr responded by saying the FCC could move to punish ABC and Kimmel.
“Frankly, when you see stuff like this, I mean look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” he said. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Hours later, ABC announced it had suspended the show. The move came just weeks after President Donald Trump predicted Kimmel would be ousted. When the host was suspended, the president took a victory lap. Trump also suggested the FCC could revoke stations’ licenses if their on-air talent criticizes him.
Gomez appeared on Thursday’s OutFront on CNN, where host Erin Burnett asked. “Is this something the FCC could actually do?”
“Well, first of all, we don’t license the networks,” Gomez replied. “We license local broadcasters. So, there is no license to pull for the networks. The local broadcasters get some programming from the networks. But second of all, we are governed by the First Amendment and by the Communications Act, which prohibits us from censoring broadcasters. So no, we cannot pull local broadcasters’ licenses simply because they air content that he does not like.”
Gomez went on to say that the FCC lacks the authority to deliver on the kind of threatening and retaliatory behavior that Carr has been engaging in:
GOMEZ: The thing that we need to understand is that the FCC cannot, it does not have the authority, it does not have the ability, it does not have the ability, it does not have the constitutional right to take action against broadcasters because the administration doesn’t like what they’re saying because they don’t like anyone that pushes back against them. So, what you see are just threats, but the threats are the point.
BURNETT: And the threat in this case, the threats worked, right? Do it the easy way or the hard way or, you know, I guess the sensible threat is we’re not gonna approve your merger at the FCC.
GOMEZ: That’s exactly the point, because we don’t have the authority to do this because it’s against the law. We would not be able to actually take that final action because on appeal, the FCC would be wrong on the facts and the law, if in fact, it retaliated against the… broadcasters, the local licensees, because of what they air. So, the threats are the point and point and the capitulation is so disappointing because what we are doing is eroding little by little, the freedom of the press, the freedom of speech on which our democracy relies. We need the fourth estate to push back against the likes of me, to hold me and the government to account.
Watch above via CNN.
