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(left) U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia; U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost; Guillermo Rodriguez with Jimmy Kimmel
The comedian returned to late-night television on Tuesday, but many viewers in markets with Nexstar or Sinclair Broadcasting-owned ABC stations were unable to see the show.
House Democrats are intensifying their probe into the Trump administration’s violations of the First Amendment by pressuring media companies, zeroing in on Nexstar Media Group’s decision to block Jimmy Kimmel Live! even after ABC restored the show.
In a 6-page Wednesday letter to Nexstar CEO Perry Sook, gay Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the ranking Democrat on the Oversight Committee, and Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost of Florida, the top Democrat on its economic growth subcommittee, accused the company of aiding what they called a campaign of censorship orchestrated by the White House and enforced through the FCC.
Related: Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension sparks congressional investigation
“The FCC’s apparent weaponization of its federal regulatory authority and your company’s preemption of programming that may be critical of President Trump represents a dangerous escalation in attacks on press freedom and protected speech,” the lawmakers wrote. “This corrupt political intimidation is unacceptable.”
Garcia said in a press release that the broader issue extends beyond a single network. “ABC’s decision to bring Jimmy Kimmel back on air was a huge win for the First Amendment, but it’s clear the Trump Administration is still making threats against the media and attempting to silence voices that disagree with the President,” Garcia said. “Nexstar and Sinclair are cooperating with that agenda. We must find out if the Executive Branch is pressuring Nexstar and its affiliates to suppress dissent and target their critics. In this country, we will always fight for free speech, and we won’t stop until we have answers.”
Related: In canceling Jimmy Kimmel, Trump’s censorship regime guts free speech
Frost echoed that urgency, warning that commercial incentives are driving censorship. “The Trump Administration is waging some of the most blatant attacks on free speech in our country’s history, and Nexstar’s decision to preempt Jimmy Kimmel’s show is part of that deeply disturbing pattern,” Frost said. “By caving to political pressure to secure a merger deal, Nexstar is placing their own bottom line above protecting the First Amendment and the integrity of its journalists, artists, comedians, and creators on their network. The public deserves the truth on the Trump Administration’s efforts to silence dissent and the media corporations enabling it.”
The letter details how FCC Chair Brendan Carr suggested affiliates could face consequences if they continued to carry Kimmel after his monologue last week, criticizing Trump’s response to Charlie Kirk’s murder. Hours later, Nexstar announced it would preempt the program “for the foreseeable future.” Sinclair soon followed suit.
For Garcia and Frost, the sequence of events raises profound questions about whether federal regulators are being used to silence political dissent. They demanded Sook turn over all communications with the FCC, Department of Justice, Disney, ABC, and Sinclair related to programming and broadcast licensing, as well as records tied to Nexstar’s $6.2 billion bid to acquire rival broadcaster Tegna, a deal that requires FCC approval.
“Your priority must be to uphold free speech and the free press, not to bow to the whims of the current Administration in exchange for a favorable acquisition deal,” the letter warns. The lawmakers set a deadline of October 8 for Nexstar to comply.
Kimmel’s return to television on Tuesday night illustrated what the lawmakers describe: a comedian defending his right to speak while millions of viewers in Sinclair- and Nexstar-owned markets such as Seattle and Washington, D.C., were still unable to watch the show live.
“Living in a country that allows us to have a show like this … that’s what [people] admire most about America,” Kimmel told his audience, before blasting the FCC’s threats as “mafioso” tactics.
Even without Sinclair and Nexstar, more than 6 million tuned in to watch Kimmel's return Tuesday night, ABC announced Wednesday, according to CNN.
His words echoed the Democrats’ charge that the administration is practicing unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination by allowing free speech only when it flatters the president.
“The Constitution’s right to free speech is under attack by the Trump Administration, with your participation,” the lawmakers told Sook.
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