ABC sues FCC over challenge to its broadcast licenses, saying actions present 'existential threat'

In the lawsuit, ABC, its parent company Disney and the eight local stations whose licenses are affected asked a federal court to stop the early renewal proceedings. It cited the network's diversity practices as a reason, but the development came shortly after a joke by ABC's late-night host Jimmy Kimmel — an outspoken Trump critic — had infuriated the president. "Again and again, the Administration has attacked ABC's speech — the stories its journalists report and the viewpoints its network programs air," the network alleged in its lawsuit. "Facing this existential threat," it added, "Plaintiffs have no choice but to seek redress from the judicial branch for the Administration's blatant retaliation for their First Amendment speech." The lone Democrat on the FCC praises the lawsuit. "For months, the FCC has waged a campaign of censorship and control against Disney's ABC stations," she said in a statement, "using the threat of broadcast license revocations to punish a company for speech this administration doesn't like."