FCC Chair Rejects Donald Trump’s Call For ABC To Lose License Over Presidential Debate

Ted Johnson
·3 min read
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The chairwoman of the FCC, Jessica Rosenworcel, said that the agency does not revoke broadcast licenses “simply because a political candidate disagrees with or dislikes content or coverage.”

Her statement came in response to two prominent Democrats’ calls for the agency to make a statement after former President Donald Trump, in an interview on Fox & Friends, called on regulators to take away the network’s broadcast license for the way that they conducted the Sept. 10 debate. Trump and his allies have objected to fact-checking of his comments from the debate co-moderators, David Muir and Linsey Davis. Trump also has claimed, without evidence, that the debate was rigged against him.

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After Trump’s comments, two Democratic lawmakers, Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) called on FCC commissioners for their commitment “to making licensing determinations objectively, based on the standards set forth in the Communications Act, and in a manner that upholds the First Amendment. Americans should have complete faith that each FCC commissioner will carry out their responsibilities objectively and consistent with the Constitution.”

The FCC grants broadcast licenses to individual stations, not networks, and they are subject to renewal.

In her statement, Rosenworcel said, “The First Amendment is a cornerstone of our democracy.  The Commission does not revoke licenses for broadcast stations simply because a political candidate disagrees with or dislikes content or coverage.  Our job at the agency is to license broadcast stations in a manner consistent with the Constitution and the Communications Act of 1934 as well as the rules and policies we have adopted pursuant to these laws.  There are no exceptions.”

Trump has previously threatened broadcast networks with the loss of their licenses, including in 2017, when he went after NBC over their reporting. After extensive coverage of Trump’s remarks, then-FCC chair Ajit Pai, appointed to his leadership post by Trump, said that “under the law does not have the authority to revoke the license of a broadcast station based on the content of a particular newscast.”

Another FCC commission, Nathan Simington, said in a statement earlier this week that he was committed to making license determinations “objectively and fairly,” and in “a manner that upholds the First
Amendment.”

He called on the FCC to renew the license of Fox Corp.-owned WTXF-TV in Philadelphia, which he said was subject to “intentional and unwarranted political delay.”

The station’s renewal has been challenged by the Media and Democracy Project, which has called on the FCC to designate a hearing on the grounds that Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch “knowingly and repeatedly presented false news about the 2020 election,” citing information that came out in Dominion Voting Systems legal proceedings against the company, including a judge’s decision on summary judgment. Fox settled the case for $787.5 million before a trial. The network’s defense was that it was reporting on Trump’s stolen election claims, something undoubtedly in the public interest.

Preston Padden, the former chief lobbyist for News Corp., has been among the leaders of the effort challenging the Fox station license. In comments submitted to the FCC last week, he said that Simington had “decided to prejudge” the Media and Democracy Project petition against the license renewal.

Padden wrote, “Commissioner Simington mentions the First Amendment in his statement. But the MAD petition is not about speech. It is about Fox’s conduct — its business decision — to knowingly and repeatedly choose to present false news, rather than the truth, in order to protect its profits.”

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