More Trouble for ABC as Brendan Carr Suggests FCC May Pursue ‘Remedies’ After Jimmy Kimmel Blames Kirk’s Murder on ‘MAGA Gang’

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, is suggesting that his agency may need to take action against ABC after its far-left late-night host, Jimmy Kimmel, said the alleged shooter of Charlie Kirk is part of the “MAGA gang.”“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Mr. Kimmel said Monday on his eponymous program in comments that went largely unnoticed until Wednesday.That’s when, during an interview on conservative podcaster Benny Johnson’s show, Mr. Carr said the comments appear to be “some of the sickest conduct possible.”“[It] appears to be an action by Jimmy Kimmel to play into that narrative that this was somehow a MAGA or Republican-motivated person. If that’s what happened here, that is really, really sick,” Mr. Carr said. “When you see stuff like this, I mean look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or you know, there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”The chairman said his agency has “remedies” that it can “look at” but declined to offer specifics, as he said it may “be called to be a judge on that.” However, he suggested ABC could take action voluntarily, such as suspending Mr. Kimmel and requiring him to make an apology to the Kirk family.Mr. Carr also suggested that local stations, not owned by ABC, should “stand up” and refuse to air Mr. Kimmel’s show until changes are made.The chairman did not say Mr. Kimmel’s comments constituted news distortion. But, he did say he believes it is “clear” that someone could “make a strong argument” the late-night host’s statement is part of an effort to “mislead the American people.” He also said it is a “very serious issue” for ABC’s parent company, the Walt Disney Company.The ABC Television Network, in addition to broadcasting left-leaning programming on “Good Morning America” and “World News Tonight,” also airs two hours each weekday of virulently anti-Trump programming — “The View” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live” — where the far-left hosts lacerate Mr. Trump and MAGA with a disciplined regularity.Since ABC — like CBS, NBC, and Fox TV — is broadcast over lucrative public airwaves, it comes under FCC regulation to provide fair and balanced news programming in a way that cable and streaming networks are not. The FCC can fine broadcast networks and, in extreme circumstances, yank the broadcast licenses of the networks’ owned and affiliated local stations that transmit the national programming.Mr. Carr has previously suggested that ABC could receive scrutiny for some of its other programs, such as “The View.” He has also expressed a much greater willingness to potentially yank broadcast licenses. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal published two days before Kirk’s assassination, Mr. Carr said that broadcast licenses are “not sacred cows” and said he would not hesitate to revoke them from companies that he believes are not serving the public interest. Mr. Kimmel’s comments sparked outrage online, with some users calling for his firing.“Fire him! He is disgusting!” one user wrote.“@Disney have him retract and correct, or fire him already,” another person said.A conservative writer, Buzz Patterson, wrote, “Sue his ass…and then fire him.” An author, Mark Mendlovitz, said, “The networks should be severely punished for putting out propaganda like this. This violates FCC news distortion regulations. And Kimmel is the biggest tool of them all.”Other social media users tried to put pressure on companies that advertise during Mr. Kimmel’s show by tagging in the comments and asking if they wanted their brand associated with his commentary.ABC did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication. Shortly after officials in Utah released the identity of the suspected shooter, Tyler Robinson, reporters and social media users began to examine his background to try to glean information about his motivations. Left-wing commentators and media figures focused on reports that he came from a conservative family, as well as his internet activity, to link him to a right-wing ideology. However, Utah’s governor, Spencer Cox, told NBC’s “Meet The Press” on Sunday, “There clearly was a leftist ideology.”“Friends have confirmed that there was kind of that deep, dark internet, the Reddit culture, and these other dark places of the internet where this person was going deep,” Mr. Cox said.He highlighted an engraving on a bullet casing that read, “Hey, fascist! Catch!”“I really don’t have a dog in this fight. If this was a radicalized MAGA person, I’d be saying that as well,” Mr. Cox said. Law enforcement officials released text messages they say were sent from Mr. Robinson to his romantic partner, a biological male who now identifies as a woman, in which the suspect said he “had enough of [Kirk’s] hatred.”“Some hate can’t be negotiated out,” the suspect allegedly said as he confessed to shooting Kirk. Mr. Kimmel’s comment and the growing outrage come as ABC News is facing criticism after its chief national correspondent, Matt Gutman, called Mr. Robinson’s text messages to his transgender romantic partner “very touching.”Mr. Gutman apologized on Wednesday morning and said he was trying to “underscore the jarring contrast between his cold-blooded assassination of Charlie Kirk – a man who dedicated his life to public dialogue – and the personal, disturbing texts read aloud by the Utah County Attorney.”Mr. Kimmel has faced years of criticism from conservatives for his devoted opposition to Mr. Trump and lack of hesitation to use his broadcast platform to denounce the president on a nightly basis. He is also a supporter of establishment Democrats, and emceed one of the biggest-dollar Hollywood fundraisers ever last year for President Biden.After it was announced that CBS is canceling “The Late Show,” hosted by Mr. Colbert, Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social, “The word is, and it’s a strong word at that, Jimmy Kimmel is NEXT to go in the untalented Late Night Sweepstakes.”Earlier this month, a right-leaning law firm, the Center for American Rights, filed a complaint against Mr. Kimmel’s show with the FCC and urged the agency to investigate Mr. Kimmel’s donations to Democratic candidates and alleged conflicts of interest.

More Trouble for ABC as Brendan Carr Suggests FCC May Pursue ‘Remedies’ After Jimmy Kimmel Blames Kirk’s Murder on ‘MAGA Gang’

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