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The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday came out against President Trump’s threat to challenge – “and, if appropriate,” revoke – the licenses of NBC and other news networks he deems as “fake news.”
Ajit Pai, a Republican who was appointed head of the FCC by Trump in January, finally spoke on the issue six days after the President first made the suggestion. Pai shot down any possibility, saying that the FCC “does not have the authority to revoke a license of a broadcast station based on content” and that he will personally “stand for the First Amendment.”
“Under the law, the FCC does not have the authority to revoke a license of a broadcast station based on the content,” Pai said at an AT&T policy forum event. “I believe in the First Amendment. The FCC, under my leadership, will stand for the First Amendment.”
He added that it is “not within the FCC’s jurisdiction to handle fake news.”
President Trump last week tweeted that a report by NBC claiming he wanted a “tenfold increase” in the U.S. nuclear arsenal was "pure fiction, made up to demean" and suggested that he might challenge the license of major news networks he deems as "fake news" such as NBC and CNN.
He went a step further and said that "licenses must be challenged" because of how “partisan, distorted and fake” some major news networks have become.
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