ABC, which just a couple of years ago reached a $15 million settlement with President Donald Trump after Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos repeatedly said Trump had been held "liable for rape," is now suing the Federal Communications Commission over what it calls "a retaliatory campaign." The suit seeks an order to block the FCC from moving ahead with proceedings to revoke broadcast licenses.
BREAKING: ABC has filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the FCC in DC District Court. The suit says the Trump administration "has waged a retaliatory campaign against ABC for a single reason: it disapproves of what ABC broadcasts."
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) August 18, 2026
"Plaintiffs come to this court reluctantly with no alternative means to eliminate these ongoing and immediate threats other than total capitulation to the administration’s demands," the lawsuit states.
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) August 18, 2026
Reuters reports:
Disney and its ABC unit sued the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday to block an early review of licenses for eight ABC stations, arguing that the Trump administration is trying to punish the network over its broadcast content.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged broadcasters to drop comedy or news programs he dislikes or which have been critical, and has pressed the FCC on numerous occasions to revoke ABC's licenses.
In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, Disney said the FCC was seeking to coerce and retaliate against "a network that refuses to bow to the administration's demands," calling the agency's actions an "extraordinary assault on free speech."
Trump has waged an aggressive series of attacks on the news media and the latest move follows a two-year-long battle between Trump and Disney. Last month, Trump again called for ABC stations to lose their licenses because the network refused to air a prime-time speech on elections.
"Comedy or news programs" is doing a lot of lifting here. Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The View are both one-sided political opinion platforms.
*what it labels as a “news” broadcast. Fixed it for you
— Jim Muessig (@JimMuessig) August 18, 2026
All the FCC has to do is play clips from The View…
— Sean Gibson (@SeanGibson5) August 18, 2026
The Stephanopoulos incident should be mitigating for the defense. Perhaps a different network should have taken this on.
— Sue (@SusanK1717) August 18, 2026
Well ABC is using the public airwaves for political propaganda. There’s an argument to be made that they should be private.
— Jake (@mediachecker) August 18, 2026
Discovery should be interesting if ABC has to open up its files...should be interesting to see the army of skeletons that fall out on their behavior.
— Sterling Jagrfeldt (@SJagrfeldt) August 18, 2026
Will ABC in this lawsuit go over how their board/producers/tv hosts decided to cover the administration? Will we see all the files?
— Mars by 2032? (@modelteji) August 18, 2026
ABC is propaganda news. They’ve been exposed multiple times.
— GCfor3 (@GCfor3) August 18, 2026
ABC uses the public airwaves, they need to serve the public, not the DNC or DSA (same thing)
— David Cutty 🇺🇸 (@DavidCutty) August 18, 2026
Pretty fair and balanced reporting. Any mention that the government believes that ABC is not serving in the public interest and may be violating said license?
— Ton Katruk (@David78128979) August 18, 2026
Well no shit, Brian. They hate ABC the same reason they hate you: you’re propagandists.
— Tina Lynn (@deckerdog3) August 18, 2026
Reuters adds:
The FCC is also investigating ABC daytime talk show "The View," which discusses U.S. politics, after saying it may be subject to federal rules requiring broadcasters to provide equal opportunities to political candidates. Disney noted that since February the program has not invited any political candidates to appear, citing the FCC’s "pressure campaign."
If ABC is so concerned about its license renewals, it could take steps, like lightening up on the political propaganda. There are steps all mainstream media outlets could take to get their approval ratings out of the gutter, but so far none have attempted them. Well, maybe CBS News, and Bari Weiss is getting slammed for it.
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