Trouble for ABC as Watchdog Urges the FCC To Investigate Jimmy Kimmel for Democratic Activism, Donations, and Conflicts of Interest

A conservative watchdog group is calling for the Federal Communications Commission to investigate the anti-Trump host of ABC’s late-night show, Jimmy Kimmel, over his donations to Democratic candidates. The Center for American Rights filed a complaint with the FCC accusing Mr. Kimmel of failing to comply with the commission’s “longstanding policies regarding conflicts of interest.”“Kimmel and ABC have failed the Commission’s standard numerous times as he has hosted multiple Democratic politicians as guests while at the same time publicly backing their campaigns by fundraising for them, endorsing them, or donating significant funds to them without disclosing the nature of his support to his viewing audience,” the complaint reads.The CAR notes that Mr. Kimmel hosted a fundraiser for President Biden in June 2024. That same month, he had Vice President Kamala Harris on his show as a guest, but the complaint says Mr. Kimmel “did not disclose that he was headlining a fundraising event for her campaign.”President Biden speaks with host Jimmy Kimmel during a commercial break during the taping of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live,’ June 8, 2022, at Los Angeles. AP/Evan Vucci“Several weeks later, on September 6, 2024, Kimmel hosted Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff on the show to talk about Vice President Harris’s campaign for the presidency. Again, he did not disclose that several weeks before he had hosted a fundraising event to benefit the Democratic ticket, funds she inherited from Biden,” the filing says.The June 2024 Biden fundraiser made headlines a year later when actor George Clooney disclosed, in the Jake Tapper book, “Original Sin,” that Mr. Biden did not recognize him at the event.The CAR notes that Mr. Kimmel had sent out email messages meant to benefit the Biden and Harris campaigns, and takes issue with him not disclosing that information on his show, which is broadcast over the air and subject to FCC regulations regarding conflicts of interest. “A few weeks later, on October 7, 2024, a month out from the election, Kimmel hosted Tim Walz for a softball interview. Again, he did not disclose his endorsement or fundraising activity during the program,” the complaint says. “In other words, Kimmel consistently hijacked the public airwaves for his personal political agenda: supporting the Biden-Harris-Walz ticket by showering it with free airtime and the glitz and glam associated with his celebrity. And he did so without ever telling the viewers that he was personally engaged in their race.”Senator Adam Schiff, a devoted opponent of President Trump, has appeared on ‘The Late Show’ multiple times over the years. Paramount GlobalThe CAR says that Mr. Kimmel has donated to other Democrats whom he later had on his show as well, without disclosing his financial support, such as Senator Adam Schiff.The filing cites an example the FCC admonishing “a licensee when a broadcast station employee and talk show host hosted an interview show with municipal candidates without disclosing at the beginning that he was the campaign treasurer for one of the candidates.” The commission at the time said that “a station principal who was highly active in a local GOP club ‘may editorialize or comment on matters in which it has a significant personal interest. However, its decision to do so would impose a responsibility to reveal to its listening audience the extent and nature of its interest.’”While the FCC has its own policy regarding conflicts of interest, the CAR notes that ABC News prohibits employees from making donations. However, “because he is apparently classified on the entertainment side of the house, that policy does not apply, even as he regularly hosts politicians.”The watchdog also says that “one could even ask” if hosts should be required to disclose conflicts of interest when they talk about politicians to whom they donated or about their opponents. The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, during a Senate hearing at Washington, D.C., on June 24, 2020. Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via APMr. Kimmel is considered the second most anti-Trump late-night host after Stephen Colbert. He frequently takes to the airwaves to skewer President Trump, who regularly denounces the late-night host on social media. 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.”The late-night daypart in broadcast television is under siege, plagued by secular decline. In addition to CBS canceling “The Late Show,” ABC and NBC both ended the Friday night editions of the Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon shows; the Kimmel show now takes off the entire summer, and next month, Mr. Fallon’s Tuesday night shows are expected to be pushed into the wee hours of the morning by professional basketball.The precarious standing of the highly compensated late-night stars makes accusations of ethics breaches and political bias unusually sensitive.The CAR complaint says that Mr. Kimmel has the right to donate to political parties and candidates. However, it says, “What he may not do is lend the public airwaves to the Democratic Party by constantly featuring its candidates and advocates while ignoring all Republicans, and especially not when he’s contributing to those very same Democrats he’s hosting on air.” Jimmy Kimmel thanks volunteers at a Democratic-coordinated campaign canvass launch with Senator Jacky Rosen, October 21, 2024, at Las Vegas. Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesIn a statement, the president of CAR, Daniel Suhr, said Mr. Kimmel is “making a mockery of the American people by including major Democrat politicians as just another ‘guest’ on the show.”The CAR asks the FCC to investigate Mr. Kimmel’s “violation of its policies.”ABC did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication. ABC’s parent company, the Walt Disney Company, also did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication. The complaint comes at a delicate time for ABC and Disney. The Trump-appointed chairman of the FCC, Brendan Carr, has not been shy about wielding his agency’s authority to pressure news networks to address allegations of bias.President Biden speaks during a campaign event with President Obama moderated by Jimmy Kimmel, right, at the Peacock Theater, June 15, 2024, at Los Angeles. AP/Alex BrandonWhether the FCC launches an investigation is yet to be seen; the commission did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment. However, the complaint was filed as Disney is hoping to finalize a deal for ESPN, which it owns, to acquire many of the NFL’s media assets. The deal is expected to require the approval of the FCC and possibly the Department of Justice. The transaction is very important to Disney as it is central to efforts by ESPN — once the crown jewel in Disney’s portfolio of companies — to reimagine itself for the streaming era.The complaint against Mr. Kimmel might cause Disney to go through a similar process to CBS and its parent company, Paramount Global, as the FCC reviewed Skydance Media’s acquisition of Paramount.Left-wing journalists and legal scholars alleged that the FCC was holding up the deal until Paramount settled Mr. Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit against CBS for the editing of Ms. Harris’s October 2024 interview with “60 Minutes.” The CAR also filed a news distortion complaint against CBS for the Harris interview. Host Jimmy Kimmel at the Oscars on March 12, 2023, at Los Angeles. AP/Chris PizzelloWhile Paramount and the FCC insisted that Mr. Trump’s lawsuit was unrelated to the Skydance deal, it was widely believed that the commission used its authority during the deal process to win concessions from Skydance — such as a commitment to unbiased journalism and to end Paramount’s aggressive diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. If the FCC decides to investigate the complaint against Mr. Kimmel, it could open the door for the commission to pressure ABC to address allegations of a left-wing, anti-Trump bias.

Trouble for ABC as Watchdog Urges the FCC To Investigate Jimmy Kimmel for Democratic Activism, Donations, and Conflicts of Interest

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