A bipartisan band of former Federal Communications Commission officials is pressing a federal appeals court to pry open a long-dormant agency policy that Chairman Brendan Carr has thrust into the spotlight. They’ve filed for a writ of mandamus in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, demanding the FCC vote on their November 2025 petition to scrap the News Distortion Policy. Carr, a Trump appointee, has wielded it like a cudgel against broadcasters he accuses of slanting coverage. The move tests the boundaries of regulation in an era when public airwaves still carry obligations that cable and online outlets escape.
The policy traces to 1949. It targets broadcasters who deliberately twist fact-based reports on major news events. Errors from honest mistakes? Off limits. Opinions? Untouchable. For decades, legal safeguards kept it holstered. No more. Carr revived it amid Trump’s return, threatening ABC over Jimmy Kimmel’s joke tying into conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s killing, CBS for editing a 60 Minutes sit-down with Kamala Harris, and stations airing what he called skewed takes on Trump’s Iran war—though he later walked back the license revocation hint. “Licenses aren’t sacred cows,” Carr warned recently on X, adding broadcasters risk losing them for “news distortion or broadcast hoaxes.” (X post by TV News Now)
But. Former chairs and commissioners from both parties see danger. Mark Fowler, Reagan-era Republican leader, called it “a loaded gun that Chairman Carr is using to threaten broadcasters.” Until repealed, he said, “we will not have a free press.” Tom Wheeler, Obama-appointed Democrat who chaired from 2013 to 2017, warned it lets the chair “police perceived media bias, discourage broadcasters from covering controversial stories, and punish outlets that air content the Trump administration dislikes.” Rachelle Chong, another ex-Republican commissioner, noted the rare alignment: “When unlikely allies share an opinion, that opinion eclipses partisanship and ideology.” The petitioners include the Radio Television Digital News Association, ex-chairs Dennis Patrick and Alfred Sikes, plus commissioners Andrew Barrett and Ervin Duggan. All agree: time to kill it. (The Verge)
Carr pushes back hard. In a November 2025 X post, he dismissed the petition: “How about no. On my watch, the FCC will continue to hold broadcasters accountable to their public interest obligations.” He points to past Democratic pressure on conservative Sinclair Broadcast Group via the same rule, citing letters from Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal. “Weaponization has taken place at the FCC,” Carr told Washington Reporter in April 2026. “It did under the Biden years.” Broadcasters, he argues, hold a public trust—free spectrum in exchange for serving communities, not peddling hoaxes. (Washington Reporter)
Tensions boiled over specific cases. Carr reopened probes into ABC, NBC, and CBS complaints from the 2024 campaign, per the New York Post in January 2025. He demanded full transcripts of CBS’s Harris interview, tying it to Paramount’s Skydance merger review—a move critics likened to leverage. (New York Post) ABC suspended Kimmel temporarily after Carr’s threat; he returned amid free speech outcry, but not before Disney brass huddled. (Center Square) Even Republican Sen. Ted Cruz dubbed Carr a “mafioso” over the Kimmel flap. And in March 2026, Carr warned of audits ahead of license renewals: “Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions—also known as the fake news—have a chance now to correct course.” (X post by Brendan Carr)
Commissioner fault lines deepen the drama. Democrat Anna Gomez deems the policy “vague and ineffective.” Republican Olivia Trusty backs its core: stations can’t serve communities if they “knowingly distort the news.” With midterms looming, petitioners argue delay invites abuse—“this abuse of regulatory power to shape voter perception.” A court win forces a vote. It might fail. But attorney Andrew Jay Schwartzman, filing with Gigi Sohn and groups like Protect Democracy, welcomes that: “That would be OK with us, because we can then appeal that denial.” (The Verge)
First Amendment shadows loom large. Petitioners cite Supreme Court NetChoice rulings, where justices questioned government meddling in speech balance. “There is no legitimate government interest… in ‘correct[ing] the mix of speech,’” a plurality wrote. Yet Carr’s FCC, they claim, pursues exactly that. Carr counters with precedent: “No one has a First Amendment right to a license or to monopolize a radio frequency,” per Red Lion Broadcasting v. FCC. Public airwaves aren’t free speech absolutes. (X post by Brendan Carr)
Broader salvos mark Carr’s tenure. Probes into Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Disney’s ABC over DEI hiring. Scrutiny of PBS, NPR ads. A San Francisco station outing ICE agents. BBC for an edited clip. (Puck) Even Sen. Cruz and five ex-GOP commissioners urged restraint. (Status) Carr ties it to eroding trust—legacy media at 9% credibility, per polls. Broadcasters got billions in free spectrum. Time to pay up.
The court petition lands as licenses renew. Stations scramble for compliance. Self-censorship whispers grow. Carr’s FCC enforces what predecessors ignored. Or weaponizes it. Depends on the lens. One thing clear: broadcast’s public duty just got real. Again.
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