Top media networks put on notice after refusing to air Trump's primetime address: 'Serious concerns'
FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., is asking the Federal Communications Commission to review ABC, NBC and CBS' broadcast decisions after the networks either declined to air live or cut away from President Donald Trump's July 16 primetime address.
In a letter first obtained by Fox News Digital and sent Monday, Carter asked FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to review whether the networks violated their obligation to "serve the public interest" and whether their actions should be considered in future broadcast license proceedings.
"The public airwaves should inform the American people, not be used by corporate executives to decide which matters of national importance they are permitted to hear," Carter wrote.
Carter raised "serious concerns" in the letter, saying networks can disagree with President Trump's remarks while still airing what he says.
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"Broadcasters may criticize, analyze, or fact-check the President's statements," he wrote. "However, refusing to air a major presidential address because executives disagree with its content raises serious concerns that they intended to keep Americans in the dark about potential foreign interference in our elections."
Carter also argued that Americans should have been allowed to make up their own minds.
"Regardless of political affiliation, the American people deserved to hear this information directly from their President and judge it for themselves," Carter wrote. "Instead, ABC and NBC declined to broadcast the speech on their primary television networks, while CBS cut away before the President completed his remarks."
Carter added that airing the speech on streaming services was not an "adequate substitute for free, over-the-air television—particularly for Americans without reliable broadband access."
The letter follows President Trump's Thursday night primetime address, during which he called for ABC and NBC's broadcast licenses to be revoked, accusing the networks of being part of a "plot" to "continue this fraud" and "protect the radical left."
"In a rare move, NBC and ABC fake news have both said that they would not cover this speech," President Trump said. "They knew what it was about because they don't like the topic, because they know how corrupt our system is and they don't want to reveal it."
President Trump used the more than 20-minute address to announce the "immediate declassification and release of critical intelligence" documents he said revealed "shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure."
"America is back and doing really well, but we still have a major challenge that must be urgently addressed, because no country can be great without fair and honest elections," President Trump said. "You have to trust your country, because if there can be no trust, there can be no greatness. And that's very simple. No trust, no greatness."
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According to the White House, the documents released during the address included files related to alleged voting system vulnerabilities, China's alleged acquisition of U.S. voter data, a Michigan voter registration investigation and noncitizens on state voter rolls. Fox News Digital could not independently verify the contents of the documents or President Trump's claims.
"Just as disturbingly, this vital information has been covered up and hidden from you, the American people, our beautiful, great American people, for many years," President Trump said. "But that all changes right now."
ABC News and NBC News streamed President Trump's speech on their digital platforms before later airing special reports summarizing his remarks on their broadcast networks.
CBS News initially aired analysis before joining President Trump's speech several minutes after it began, then cut away after he criticized ABC and NBC.
Carter said the issues raised during Trump's address warranted live broadcast coverage, adding the "allegations concern both election integrity and national security.
Fox News Digital reached out to the FCC, ABC News, NBC News and CBS News for comment.