A conservative legal organization gained direct access to the office of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr last September, accelerating a complaint targeting comedian Jimmy Kimmel and his employer, ABC, according to internal emails obtained by WIRED. The correspondence indicates the Center for American Rights (CAR) routed its filing to Carr's senior counsel, circumventing career staff who typically evaluate such complaints, raising concerns among press freedom advocates. This direct channel influenced subsequent regulatory actions and merger approvals, former FCC chief counsel Robert Corn-Revere told Deadline, describing Carr's threats as sounding "like statements by a mob boss."
The Center for American Rights (CAR) did not follow standard protocol when it submitted its initial complaint against Jimmy Kimmel. Daniel Suhr, CAR's president and a former policy director for Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, used a direct line to Chairman Carr's senior legal advisers, bypassing the consumer affairs staff responsible for reviewing such filings, WIRED reported. This direct communication channel allowed CAR to submit legal arguments that echoed criticisms of major broadcast networks often voiced by former President Donald Trump.
For months, these internal emails show, CAR provided Carr’s office with a steady stream of legal theories aimed at challenging broadcasters. Carr's predecessor, Jessica Rosenworcel, had previously dismissed three complaints from CAR against ABC, CBS, and NBC stations, asserting they conflicted with the First Amendment. However, Carr reinstated these complaints shortly after assuming office.
By September 2025, CAR's efforts had already begun to influence regulatory proceedings. A complaint filed by CAR against CBS concerning a "60 Minutes" interview with Kamala Harris became a point of leverage in the agency's review of the Paramount-Skydance merger, which received approval in July after Skydance committed to installing a conservative ombudsman at CBS News. This demonstrated a clear shift in regulatory priorities.
Suhr confirmed to WIRED that CAR adheres to all FCC rules regarding public comments and ex parte meetings. He stated the group's initial September complaint was submitted through the agency's consumer complaints portal, with relevant staff copied. Suhr explained that a subsequent supplemental filing came together quickly after Carr's podcast appearance because CAR had already conducted extensive research on news distortion, Kimmel, and late-night television, denying any advance notice of the chairman's remarks. "In this instance, we filed our initial September complaint in the general FCC consumer complaints portal and, as you say, cc’d the relevant staff on it," Suhr told WIRED.
On September 4, Suhr sent his complaint against Kimmel directly to two senior aides in Carr’s office: Erin Boone, Carr's senior counsel for media and enforcement, and Katie McAuliffe, the chairman's policy adviser. The email began, "Dear Erin and Katie." Suhr attached a 12-page filing and five exhibits of opposition research, providing Carr’s office with his ticket number to "find it easily in the FCC consumer complaints system." Boone also served as the acting chief of the media bureau, the division directly overseeing broadcast television and radio licensing. FCC staff had standing instructions to route CAR's complaints directly to her, the emails show.
CAR’s complaint against Kimmel included a political profile of the show's writers, producers, camera operators, and assistants. The largest of the five exhibits attached to Suhr's email detailed Federal Election Commission records. Time stamps indicate CAR spent the afternoon before the filing compiling over 60 pages of individual donation histories from "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" employees.
Another exhibit listed 215 donations from Molly McNearney, the show's executive producer and Kimmel's wife. Two additional exhibits documented Kimmel's personal giving history, sourced from OpenSecrets and the Federal Election Commission. This level of detail in the complaint was unusual.
Charlie Kirk was killed at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, September 10. Kimmel addressed the shooting in his opening monologue the following Monday, making remarks that critics interpreted as blaming the MAGA movement for Kirk's murder. Outrage intensified the next day with segments on Fox News and backlash from MAGA influencers across social media platforms.
The public reaction was swift. Carr then appeared on "The Benny Show," a YouTube program hosted by conservative commentator Benny Johnson, where he characterized the monologue as a "very, very serious issue" for ABC parent company Disney. He suggested that local station owners carrying "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" needed to "step up," warning broadcasters could either discipline Kimmel themselves or face regulatory action from the commission.
Hours after Carr's podcast appearance, Suhr filed a supplemental complaint with Carr’s office. This new filing adopted the "news distortion" theory that Carr had aired on the podcast. This rarely invoked doctrine prohibits broadcasters from deliberately falsifying factual news reports.
Suhr addressed the filing directly to the chief of the FCC's enforcement bureau. The supplemental urged the agency to force KABC, the ABC-owned Los Angeles station that carried "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," off the air if necessary. The FCC's West Coast enforcement director, whose office directly oversees KABC, emailed Carr later that day, urging him not to let Disney avoid accountability and offering assistance, WIRED previously reported.
Later that evening, Nexstar announced it would preempt "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" across its ABC affiliates. Sinclair followed within hours, pulling the show and demanding Kimmel donate money to Kirk’s nonprofit, Turning Point USA. Both station groups had multibillion-dollar transactions pending before the FCC at the time: Nexstar sought approval for a $6.2 billion merger with Tegna, and Sinclair pursued station acquisitions requiring commission sign-off.
Disney subsequently suspended the program indefinitely. The pressure on broadcasters became intense. New emails reveal the FCC's call center was overwhelmed the following day.
Within 90 minutes, its consumer bureau logged 170 calls, with more than half going unanswered. Overnight, the agency received approximately 700 complaints, a "very large call volume," a consumer affairs deputy wrote, "all generally related to Kimmel going off air." These numbers underscore the immediate public reaction to the broadcast changes. Carr's legal arguments drew widespread criticism from First Amendment scholars, former FCC officials, and press freedom groups.
In November, seven former FCC commissioners, five of them Republicans, petitioned the agency to rescind the news distortion policy. They argued Carr had asserted powers that the Supreme Court and Congress have denied the commission. Robert Corn-Revere, a former FCC chief counsel, told Deadline that Carr's threats to Disney and ABC "sound like statements by a mob boss."
The FCC possesses independent authority to open investigations into broadcasters it licenses and does not technically require an outside complaint to act. However, content-based actions by the agency almost always stem from third-party filings. An outside complaint provides the commission with a named complainant, specific allegations to address, and a record that frames any resulting action as a response to public grievance.
This process provides a layer of political insulation for the commission. Suhr has argued in interviews that broadcasters are failing their public interest obligations under the Communications Act, pointing to Democratic-leaning late-night shows and a general lack of trust in national news. He also cites a 2018 letter from Senate Democrats urging the FCC to investigate Sinclair for news distortion, claiming CAR seeks an evenhanded enforcement of the public interest standard.
The economic toll extends beyond individual broadcasts. In March, the FCC approved the Nexstar-Tegna merger, waiving a federal rule that bars a single company from owning TV stations reaching more than 39 percent of U.S. households. In a press release, Nexstar stated the merger would grant it access to 80 percent of homes with televisions.
This outcome, where a handful of station groups reach most of the country under commitments negotiated with the FCC, closely aligns with the vision Suhr has publicly articulated. In a February interview on WNYC's "On the Media," Suhr offered the clearest picture yet of his agenda for the FCC and the future he envisions for broadcast television. "In that world," he said, "I think it would look a lot more like the AM radio."
This sequence of events raises significant questions about the independence of the FCC and the future of free speech in broadcasting. The use of direct channels by a politically aligned group to influence regulatory enforcement creates a precedent that could empower future administrations to exert content control over media outlets. The approval of major mergers following these interventions suggests a potential quid pro quo, where regulatory waivers are granted in exchange for compliance with informal content demands.
This could fundamentally alter the media landscape, pushing it towards a more politically homogenous environment. The impact on journalistic independence and diverse viewpoints could be substantial. Critics argue that such actions undermine the core tenets of the First Amendment, which protects broadcasters from government interference in programming decisions. - A conservative legal group gained direct, accelerated access to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's office for a complaint against Jimmy Kimmel. - This intervention led to Kimmel's suspension and influenced the approval of major broadcast mergers. - Critics, including former FCC commissioners, condemned Carr's actions as a misuse of regulatory power and a threat to free speech. - The Center for American Rights aims for conservative dominance in American broadcasting, akin to AM radio.
Readers should watch for further legal challenges to the FCC's interpretation of the "news distortion" doctrine, particularly the petition filed by seven former FCC commissioners. The implications for other pending broadcast mergers and acquisitions will also be a key area to monitor, as will any future content-related complaints filed by CAR or similar groups. The broader debate over the public interest obligations of broadcasters, especially concerning political content, will undoubtedly continue.
Future FCC appointments could shift the regulatory landscape again, either reinforcing or challenging the precedents set by these actions. The future of media freedom hangs on these regulatory decisions.
Key Takeaways
— - A conservative legal group gained direct, accelerated access to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's office for a complaint against Jimmy Kimmel.
— - This intervention led to Kimmel's suspension and influenced the approval of major broadcast mergers.
— - Critics, including former FCC commissioners, condemned Carr's actions as a misuse of regulatory power and a threat to free speech.
— - The Center for American Rights aims for conservative dominance in American broadcasting, akin to AM radio.
Source: WIRED