MSNOW: Federal Prosecutor Commends ABC for Defending ‘The View,’ Says ‘It Does No Good to Bend the Knee’

Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance found ABC’s stance against the FCC a strong push back against the Trump administration.

The network filed a Petition for Declaratory Ruling to the FCC on Friday following the commission’s announcement that it will be investigating “The View” for violating the organization’s “equal time” rule, a federal regulation that requires radio and TV stations to give equal time to political candidates on both sides of the aisle.

Vance told MSNOW’s Ari Melber that the petition, filed former solicitor general Paul Clement solidifies that the network is serious about fighting the government on this investigation.

“One of the lessons of Trump’s second term in office is that it does no good to prematurely bend the knee when your First Amendment rights are on the line,” Vance said.

“Bringing in a former solicitor general always signifies to the courts and to the government that you’re very serious about a case,” Vance added. “I think it’s a way of saying to the FCC we all know what you’re doing here is wrong. Don’t mess with us. We intend to come out with guns blazing.”

Melber said that it is interesting to see the network’s approach this time around after temporarily suspending Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show for similar accusations last fall.

More recently though, the network stood behind the comedian and late night host after he explained a political joke that the president took personal offense to about Melania Trump being a “expectant widow.”

“When you’re talking about the First Amendment, there are fine line distinctions that are drawn between different types of speech,” she said. “Joking, making fun of our politicians, even in a very abrasive fashion, that’s a hard core part of the American consensus about speech that the First Amendment protects.”

She noted that Kimmel’s reputation as a comedian who roasts politicians and the manner with which he framed the joke will protect him if the investigation were ever taken to trial.

Back in February, the FCC announced it was investigating “The View” after the daytime talk show aired an episode that featured James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for the Senate in Texas. Talarico’s opponent for nomination, the Democratic U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett, also appeared on the show.

“The FCC has an enforcement action underway on that,” Chairman Brendan Carr said at the time when asked about whether the commission was looking into potential violations of the “equal time” rule. “And we’re taking a look at it.”

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