FCC's Fast Track for Complaints Against Media Critics

USA - Ekhbary News Agency

Internal emails obtained by WIRED reveal that a small conservative legal group, the Center for American Rights (CAR), used direct access to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman's office last September to accelerate a complaint targeting comedian Jimmy Kimmel and his employer, ABC. The correspondence indicates that the group routed its filing to Chairman Brendan Carr's senior counsel, bypassing the standard procedure involving career staff who typically review such complaints. This detailed look at the process highlights how CAR, whose filings often align with criticisms of the press by former President Donald Trump, supplied legal arguments for challenges against broadcast networks.

The incident involving Kimmel, who was briefly suspended following FCC threats, drew condemnation from press freedom advocates and First Amendment scholars. Chairman Carr had suggested that ABC affiliates could face regulatory scrutiny if they did not act on Kimmel's monologue discussing Charlie Kirk. The emails show CAR's president, Daniel Suhr, had a direct line to Carr's senior legal advisors, using it to submit filings that bypassed consumer affairs staff. For months, CAR had been providing the chairman's office with legal theories aimed at challenging major broadcast networks that had drawn criticism from the Trump administration.

Ekhbary News Agency