The American Civil Liberties Union has submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the FCC for records pertaining to the agency’s decision to require Disney’s eight owned-and-operated ABC stations to renew their broadcast licenses early.
“[T]his Request concerns whether the government is using its authority to illegally retaliate against broadcasters for saying something the government dislikes, and whether it is attempting to chill protected speech,” the ACLU said in the FOIA request, filed Tuesday.
The FCC in April called for the early review of broadcast licenses for ABC’s eight local TV stations. The agency has said that’s related to holding Disney/ABC accountable to a “public interest” standard and is pursuant to an FCC probe into the media company’s DEI practices. ABC and other critics — including former FCC chairs — have blasted the move as aimed at intimidating broadcasters whose news coverage Trump does not like.
The Kimmel Connection
The timing is suspicious, the ACLU argues. The FCC’s call for early license renewal came one day after Donald Trump and Melania Trump publicly criticized a joke about Jimmy Kimmel made on his show on April 23. Kimmel had said Melania had “a glow like an expectant widow.”
On April 27, Melania Trump posted to X that “Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate… Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand.” The same day, Trump wrote on Truth Social that “Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.”
On April 28, the FCC’s Media Bureau issued an order requiring Disney “to file license renewals for all of their licensed TV stations within 30 days.” The station’s licenses were otherwise not due for renewal until between 2028 and 2031.
A Pattern of Threats
The ACLU filing notes that “This isn’t the first time that the Trump FCC threatened regulatory action against ABC over one of Jimmy Kimmel’s jokes.”
In September 2026, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatened to investigate ABC affiliates unless they took Kimmel’s show off the air (or unless ABC fired Kimmel) after the late-night host made remarks about Charlie Kirk’s murder. Carr said on a podcast, “Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way… these companies can find ways to … take action on Kimmel or, you know, there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
In the wake of Carr’s threat, ABC briefly took Kimmel off the air before a public backlash led ABC to reverse course.
The Broader Chill
The ACLU also alleges that the FCC’s review of “The View’s” equal-time exemption represents “seemingly retaliatory regulatory action against ABC.”
On May 28, the FCC issued a “reminder” to broadcasters that their licenses were a “privilege” dependent on operating in the public interest. The ACLU noted that “Prior to the ‘reminder,’ the President had repeatedly called for the revocation of broadcast licenses for broadcasters that he thinks cover him unfairly.”
Chairman Carr has publicly stated that his interpretation of the public interest standard takes into account a broadcaster’s viewpoint, stating “the public interest means you can’t be running a narrow, partisan circus and still meeting your public interest obligations.”
What the ACLU Wants
The ACLU’s FOIA request asks for the release of records, including internal and external emails, meeting minutes, legal memoranda, and communications pertaining to:
— The decision to require Disney-owned ABC stations to renew their broadcast licenses early.
— All communications among FCC employees or commissioners since January 20, 2025, discussing Disney, ABC, Jimmy Kimmel, or staff of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
— All communications discussing complaints from Trump, Melania Trump, JD Vance, and other administration officials about ABC broadcasts.
The Bottom Line
The ACLU has filed a FOIA request demanding FCC records on ABC’s early license renewal, alleging the agency is retaliating against the broadcaster for Trump-critical speech. The request comes after the FCC called for early renewal of ABC’s eight local TV station licenses one day after Trump and Melania Trump publicly criticized a Jimmy Kimmel joke. The ACLU says the FCC’s stated rationale “does not seem credible” and that the agency is attempting to chill protected speech.
