Protect Democracy and TechFreedom have represented bipartisan coalitions of former FCC officials in three filings opposing FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s abuse of his agency’s authority. Under Carr, the FCC has threatened to revoke the licenses of broadcasters whose speech the Trump administration dislikes. 

Across all three filings, the bipartisan coalitions argue that the FCC is abandoning its longstanding commitment to free speech and is instead abusing its regulatory power to pressure news organizations over editorial decisions.

Amicus Brief Supporting ABC’s First Amendment Lawsuit Against FCC

ABC’s lawsuit challenging the FCC’s retaliatory early renewal proceeding is the first time a federal court will consider a First Amendment claim against Brendan Carr’s FCC — a test that is long overdue. 

In September 2026, former FCC officials Kathryn C. Brown, Rick Chessen, Rachelle B. Chong, Michael J. Copps, Ervin Duggan, Jerald N. Fritz, Rosemary Harold, Diane Hinson, Peter Hyun, William T. Lake, Blair Levin, Ruth Milkman, Dennis Patrick, Peter Pitsch, Alfred Sikes, Gloria Tristani, Tom Wheeler, and Christopher Wright filed an amicus brief supporting ABC’s request for emergency relief in its lawsuit challenging the FCC’s early review of the network’s broadcast licenses. In the brief, the coalition argues Chairman Brendan Carr’s conduct is retaliatory, exceeds the FCC’s power, and is meant to evade judicial review.

Opposition to the early renewal of ABC’s broadcast licenses

In July 2026, former FCC officials Kathryn C. Brown, Rachelle B. Chong, Mark Fowler, Jerald Fritz, Rosemary Harold, William Lake, Ruth Milkman, Dennis Patrick, Peter Pitsch, Alfred Sikes, Gloria Tristani, Tom Wheeler, and Christopher Wright urged the commission to terminate its unprecedented early renewal review of ABC’s broadcast licenses, which are not up for renewal until 2028 at the earliest. The former officials have called this proceeding “an assault on free speech,” and assert that Carr is signaling to other broadcast companies that they, too, risk losing their licenses if they broadcast speech the President doesn’t like.

Opposition to allegations of news distortion against WCBS-TV

In March 2025, former FCC Chairs Alfred Sikes (R) and Tom Wheeler (D), plus former Commissioners Rachelle Chong (R), Gloria Tristani (D), and Ervin Duggan (D) urged the Commission to reverse its decision to reopen a proceeding against WCBS-TV. Across Republican and Democratic administrations, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been committed to acting as an independent agency, respecting the free speech rights of broadcasters, and disclaiming any role in censoring the news media. However, it recently reopened a proceeding against WCBS-TV that departs significantly from this historical practice. According to the comments’ signatories, by reopening this complaint, the Commission signaled to broadcasters that it would closely scrutinize the content of news coverage and threaten the regulatory licenses of broadcasters whose news coverage does not pass muster with the President. 

The signatories recommend that the Commission reverse course and reaffirm long-held commitment to acting as an independent agency rather than the White House’s personal censor.