ABC Accuses Trump FCC of ‘Attempted Censorship’ In Fiery New Court Filing

(Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP photo/Jimmy Kimmel Live!)

ABC filed a fiery new complaint Thursday, accusing Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr of “attempted censorship.”

The network further accused the FCC of attempting to muzzle news organizations in support of President Donald Trump.

“The retaliation against ABC is a signal to every media company in the country: accommodate the Administration’s view of what news coverage should look like or pay the price,” the network wrote in the filing. ABC currently faces the potential loss of several broadcasting licenses.

Carr grabbed headlines in September of 2025, when he made a veiled threat against ABC after comedian Jimmy Kimmel sparked outrage on the right with a joke related to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Disney, ABC’s parent company, briefly benched Kimmel before having him return to his show.

The network insisted “unfavored speakers” have been on the receiving end of attempts by Trump and his operatives to dismantle their coverage. “The tools vary; the objective does not: a media industry too fearful of official reprisal to report the news freely,” it reads.

Carr has defended himself and the FCC against prior accusations of censorship.

The eight stations in question have “held their broadcast licenses without interruption for decades” and “serve millions of viewers with award-winning original journalism, life-saving coverage during emergencies, local news stories, and locally tailored programming,” the network insisted.

“The FCC has spent the last 18 months searching for some pretext for revoking the Stations’ licenses,” it also reads. “The Commission has found none, because the Stations easily meet the standard for license renewal—which under the law means that the Commission cannot revoke their licenses or order a hearing on their renewal applications.” Despite that, the FCC has pursued ABC “on multiple fronts.”

In April Carr made the unusual decision to review the licenses of the eight stations early, a move made after the pro-Trump Center for American Rights and Media Research Center asked the FCC to deny the renewals. Trump called for ABC and NBC to lose their broadcast licenses after both networks decided against airing his election fraud national address this month.

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