The FCC is asking a court to toss Disney's lawsuit and keep alive a process that could strip ABC's broadcast licenses.
Disney sued the FCC on August 18, accusing the agency of running a censorship campaign to retaliate against ABC for coverage President Trump disliked. This week the FCC urged the court to dismiss that suit and let its license-nonrenewal proceeding continue. Two watchdog groups and several ABC viewers are now trying to intervene, arguing they do not trust Disney to defend the public interest in any settlement. Disney has opposed their motion, leaving a judge to decide who gets a say in the case.
This is not really about one lawsuit. It is a test of whether a broadcaster will fight a license threat in open court or negotiate it away behind closed doors, and outside groups clearly do not trust the second option.
The fight comes days after Trump pushed the FCC to punish an NBC journalist for saying he has had mixed results in his election endorsements, a reminder that this dispute is one thread in a broader pattern, not an isolated case.