Warren, Wyden, Markey, Van Hollen Seek Answers From TV Broadcasters After Pulling Kimmel’s Show

Warren, Wyden, Markey, Van Hollen Seek Answers From TV Broadcasters After Pulling Kimmel's Show

"If Nexstar or Sinclair traded the censorship of a critic of the administration for official acts by the Trump administration, your companies are not only complicit in an alarming trampling of free speech rights but also risk running afoul of anticorruption law"

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), along with Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), pressed broadcasters Nexstar and Sinclair for answers as to why Jimmy Kimmel was pulled off the air.

On September 15, 2025, Jimmy Kimmel made a series of comments in reaction to the assassination of Charlie Kirk that drew the ire of pro-Trump websites and Fox News. Two days later, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr implied on a podcast that he would consider regulatory repercussions for broadcasters who did not take action against Kimmel's show. Hours after his comments, ABC, Nexstar, and Sinclair suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live!. ABC later announced that it would return Kimmel's show to the network, but Nexstar and Sinclair are refusing to air the show on local ABC stations they own.

Nexstar's and Sinclair's decisions to preempt Kimmel's show come as both companies have business pending before the Trump administration. Nexstar - the nation's largest owner of local television stations and owner of dozens of ABC affiliates - needs the FCC's approval of its attempted mega-merger. Sinclair - the nation's second-largest broadcaster and largest owner of ABC affiliates - is also waiting on FCC authorization for a broadcast deal, and is planning larger upcoming deals.

"If you suspended a late-night comedian's show in part to seek regulatory favors from the administration, you have not only assisted the administration in eroding First Amendment freedoms but also create the appearance of a possible quid-pro-quo arrangement that could implicate federal anti-corruption laws," wrote the senators.

Notably, Nexstar's plan to acquire rival broadcaster Tegna would expand its reach to U.S. households from 39% to an unprecedented 80% nationally.

"If Nexstar or Sinclair traded the censorship of a critic of the administration for official acts by the Trump administration, your companies are not only complicit in an alarming trampling of free speech rights but also risk running afoul of anticorruption law," wrote the senators.

The senators requested more information as to the possible existence of a quid-pro-quo arrangement by October 7, 2025.

Senator Warren has fought against corporate media consolidation and the Trump administration's disturbing efforts to silence free speech:

• On September 23, 2025, Senator Warren released a statement after Nexstar Media Group's and Sinclair's decisions to continue to preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC affiliate stations.
• On August 1, 2025, Senator Warren released a statement following Paramount's and Skydance's responses to her recent letters.
• On July 24, 2025, Senator Warren responded to the Trump administration's approval of the Paramount-Skydance megamerger, saying "bribery is illegal no matter who is president."
• On July 23, 2025, Senator Warren published an op-ed in Variety: "Elizabeth Warren on Colbert 'Late Show' Cancellation: Is the Paramount Trump Payoff a Bribe?"
• On July 21, 2025, Senators Warren, Sanders (I-Vt.), and Wyden (D-Ore.) pressed David Ellison, CEO of Skydance, about reports of a secret deal between Skydance and President Trump - and how it may be related to Paramount's recent multi-million-dollar settlement agreement with Trump.
• On July 17, 2025, Senators Warren and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), along with Representatives Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and lawmakers in Congress, unveiled the Presidential Library Anti-Corruption Act to close loopholes that allow presidential libraries to be used as tools for corruption and bribery.
• On July 2, 2025, Senator Warren called for an investigation into Paramount's settlement with Trump.
• On February 19, 2025, Senator Warren wrote to Omeed Assefi, acting DOJ assistant attorney general, asking the agency to look into, and potentially block, a Jan. 6 deal that would have Disney merge its Hulu+ Live TV business with Fubo.

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