U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, the Republican who leads oversight of the Federal Communications Commission, joined Democrats on Friday in criticizing FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s recent threats against Disney (DIS.N), opens new tab and local broadcasters for airing “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
The conservative senator from Texas, one of the most powerful Republicans in Congress, said Carr’s threat to fine broadcasters or pull their licenses over the content of their shows was dangerous.
WASHINGTON, Sept 19 (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, the Republican who leads oversight of the Federal Communications Commission, joined Democrats on Friday in criticizing FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s recent threats against Disney (DIS.N), opens new tab and local broadcasters for airing “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
The conservative senator from Texas, one of the most powerful Republicans in Congress, said Carr’s threat to fine broadcasters or pull their licenses over the content of their shows was dangerous.
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“I got to say that’s right out of ‘Goodfellas’,” Cruz said, evoking the Martin Scorsese gangster movie. “That’s right out of a mafioso coming into a bar going, ‘Nice bar you have here. It would be a shame if something happened to it’.”
The senator’s remarks are a rare example of a prominent member of President Donald Trump’s own party publicly criticizing the actions of the administration, highlighting deepening concerns over free-speech rights and Trump’s threatened crackdowns.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that he disagreed with Cruz, calling Carr “an incredible American patriot with courage.”
On Thursday, Trump had repeated an oft-stated contention that broadcasters critical of his administration perhaps should have their FCC-issued licenses revoked.
Asked to comment further on Friday, Trump said, “I’m a very strong person for free speech,” but added that the broadcasters were so stacked against him he considered them to be an extension of the Democratic Party.
“See, I think that’s really illegal, personally,” Trump said of extensive criticism. “That’s no longer free speech… That’s just cheating, and they cheat.”
KIMMEL SUSPENSION FOLLOWS CARR’S THREATS
Prominent Democrats and civil rights groups condemned the Trump administration’s pressure to punish Kimmel and others who speak negatively of the president.
Cruz, chair of the Senate’s commerce oversight committee, joined the criticism on the Friday episode of his podcast, saying Carr’s comments were “dangerous as hell.”
The senator, a former constitutional lawyer, then adopted a broad mafioso accent to quote Carr’s comments about broadcasters this week: “We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat who infrequently agrees with Cruz, has called on Carr to resign or for Trump to fire him. Schumer called Carr “one of the single greatest threats to free speech America has ever known.” Some Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives on Friday asked the FCC’s inspector general to investigate Carr’s actions and comments.
Carr and the FCC did not respond to requests for comment, but Carr said earlier this week he is “not going anywhere” and vowed to continue his work taking on media firms and defending the “public interest.”
TRUMP CELEBRATES COMEDIAN’S DOWNFALL
Trump, a former successful TV host himself, spoke several times during a state visit to Britain this week to commend Kimmel’s suspension, calling the Los Angeles comedian untalented and denouncing him for saying “a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk.”
In Monday’s monologue, Kimmel, who frequently lampoons Trump, mocked the president for turning a question about his grief for Kirk into a cheerful promotion for his planned White House ballroom.
“This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend,” Kimmel said. “This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish.”
