Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said the agency would “stand for the First Amendment” during his tenure, responding for the first time to President Trump’s threat to revoke the broadcast licenses of networks that publish content he says is wrong.
“I believe in the First Amendment. The FCC under my leadership will stand for the First Amendment,” Pai said Tuesday during an event hosted by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. “Under the law, the FCC does not have the authority to revoke a license of a broadcast station based on the content of a particular newscast.”
Pai’s comments were his first after Trump suggested last week on Twitter that NBC News and other networks should have their broadcast licenses revoked. Trump was responding to reports from NBC that the president wanted a tenfold increase to the nuclear arsenal and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called the president a “moron.”
“With all the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!” Trump tweeted Wednesday.
“Network news has become so partisan, distorted and fake that licenses must be challenged and, if appropriate, revoked. Not fair to public!” he said in another tweet.
Democrats in Congress and Democratic FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel urged Pai to speak out against the president’s threats.
“History won’t be kind to silence,” Rosenworcel told CNN Sunday. “I think it’s important for all the commissioners to make clear that they support the First Amendment and that the agency will not revoke a broadcast license simply because the president is dissatisfied with the licensee’s coverage.”
