Former judge Andrew Napolitano hit out at the Federal Communications Commission over a report that the agency placed "pressure" on Disney to pull talk show host Jimmy Kimmel off the air after his recent comments on the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, with the former judge saying "the government cannot interfere" with free speech.
In an interview on Newsmax's "Wake Up America" Friday morning, Napolitano referred to a recent report from The New York Post claiming that the FCC placed pressure on Disney, ABC's parent company, to indefinitely suspend "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"
"So my buddy and longtime Fox colleague who writes for the New York Post, Charlie Gasparino, is reporting that the FCC pressured Disney," Napolitano said.
He added that there are "business reasons" for the decision, noting that Nexstar Media Group, which owns many of the local affiliates that partner with ABC to show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" is in the midst of seeking FCC approval on a massive $6.2 billion deal to purchase local TV operator Tegna. Another major local TV operator, Sinclair, also threatened to pull the show as it is considering making "acquisitions, strategic partnerships, and business combinations," that would require the FCC's sign-off.
However, Napolitano said, "If Charlie Gasparino is right, if the FCC did pressure Disney, this is reprehensible. This is Soviet-like because the federal government is enjoined, is prevented from evaluating the content of speech, even speech on airwaves by the First Amendment."
He added, "Listen, I don't watch Kimmel. I don't care what he says. I don't agree with what he said. I mourn for Charlie and his family, like all people who are rational do. But you have the right to say what you want in America, and the government cannot interfere with that."
Napolitano said, "I'll be really candid and down and dirty: if a Republican FCC can do that to ABC, a Democrat FCC can do it to fill in the blank. Anybody else that's regulated by them that they don't like, conservative or libertarian or free market speech. That's why we have a First Amendment."
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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