Tom Wheeler, the former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, implored his successor, Ajit Pai, to say something publicly about President Donald Trump's threats to take NBC and other networks off the air because of their news coverage of the chief executive.
"With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!" Trump tweeted on Wednesday. He later follow-up with another tweet: "Network news has become so partisan, distorted and fake that licenses must be challenged and, if appropriate, revoked. Not fair to public!"
Pai, who Trump appointed as FCC chariman, has remained silent as have his fellow Republicans on the regulatory agency. In a Friday essay on the Brookings Institution blog, Wheeler echoed a growing chorus of lawmakers, media organizations (PDF), and others calling for Pai and other GOP commissioners to end their two-day silence on the First Amendment issue.
Whether Trump's comments on the issue are political theater or not, it should be noted that the FCC doesn't issue broadcast licenses to networks. Instead, it licenses individual stations. Comcast-owned NBC owns, and operates, numerous stations in major markets, but NBC content also airs on many affiliate stations that are not owned by NBC.The president may decide he can walk away from his oath of office, but the FCC commissioners have also sworn to uphold the Constitution. Despite this, they are AWOL. Why the silence from the Republicans at the FCC? The two Democratic commissioners, Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel, immediately spoke up on this constitutional affront.
But where are the Republicans? Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Brendan Carr were both appointed by Donald Trump, and Commissioner Mike O’Rielly is a former Republican congressional staffer who prides himself on strict adherence to the law. Normally, they will tweet at the drop of a hat. Have they lost their Twitter handles?
It's not likely that the NBC stations could lose their licenses, as a First Amendment legal battle would commence if either Trump or the FCC moved to strip the licenses.
Trump's threat against NBC was in response to the network's report that the president was thinking about dramatically increasing the US nuclear arsenal. According to the NBC report, which cites anonymous sources:
According to the officials present, Trump’s advisers, among them the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, were surprised. Officials briefly explained the legal and practical impediments to a nuclear buildup and how the current military posture is stronger than it was at the height of the buildup. In interviews, they told NBC News that no such expansion is planned.
The July 20 meeting was described as a lengthy and sometimes tense review of worldwide U.S. forces and operations. It was soon after the meeting broke up that officials who remained behind heard Tillerson say that Trump is a "moron."
While the Republican commissioners on the FCC have remained silent, Trump kept up the pressure on NBC News on Friday.
The president retweeted former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly's statement that, "The President will not be able to impact licenses, but he is doing major damage to the @NBC brand." Trump added a statement of his own: "Sadly, they and others are Fake News, and the public is just beginning to figure it out!"
The FCC did not respond for comment.
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