Thread by @brianstelter

Stand by for news...

Breaking: The Trump-aligned FCC is planning to file paperwork as early as this afternoon that will challenge Disney's eight licenses for its eight ABC stations. This early-renewal move will be a major escalation by @BrendanCarrFCC. cnn.it/41XdjH1

@BrendanCarrFCC The FCC is preparing to "call in all of the TV station licenses for Disney/ABC for early renewal," a source familiar with the matter said, confirming Semafor's scoop from earlier this morning. It will be viewed as government retaliation for keeping Kimmel's show on the air.

@BrendanCarrFCC The eight ABC licenses in question aren't due to be renewed for years. So the early renewal order would trigger a lengthy hearing process, with many opportunities for stations to beat back the Trump admin's pressure. But stations have to be willing to defend themselves.

@BrendanCarrFCC The FCC hadn't taken this type of early-renewal action in decades... although, strangely enough, the agency just filed an early-renewal order yesterday against a small station license holder called Bridge News. fcc.gov/document/bridg…

@BrendanCarrFCC Carr must know that if he sends Disney these early-renewal papers, the action will be widely condemned. But my source familiar with the matter said the FCC will assert that the license review stems from an ongoing FCC probe into Disney's DEI practices.

@BrendanCarrFCC I'll be refreshing the FCC website today to see if the orders come through. ABC has many legal defenses, and its licenses are likely not in any real jeopardy. But it calls to mind the title of Malcolm Feeley's 1979 book about the legal system: "The Process Is the Punishment."