Republican Ted Cruz Flags 'Dangerous' Abuse Of Power As FCC Threats Pull Jimmy Kimmel Off Air: 'Right Out Of Goodfellas'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) U.S. Senator Ted Cru , a leading Republican and head of oversight for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), joined Democrats on Friday in criticising FCC Chair Brendan Carr for his recent threats against Disney and local broadcasters airing Jimmy Kimmel Live .

Cruz, a conservative from Texas and a leading figure in Congress, called Carr's threat to fine broadcasters or revoke their licenses over show content“dangerous,” stressing bipartisan concern over potential government overreach and threats to free speech, Reuters reported.

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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 member of President Donald Trump' s own party publicly criticising 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 repeated an oft-stated contention that broadcasters critical of his administration perhaps should have their FCC-issued licenses revoked.

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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

ABC, the television network owned by Disney , has suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live after FCC Chair Brendan Carr threatened investigations and regulatory action against licensed broadcasters airing the show. In response, the owners of dozens of local ABC-affiliated stations announced they would stop carrying the program. Trump, who appointed Carr, publicly supported the decision.

The suspension came after Kimmel's Monday night monologue, in which he addressed the murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, a close associate and political ally of Trump.

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Conservative activists were angered by Kimmel's comments that they were using the assassination to score "political points" and his suggestion that the killer may also have been a conservative. Kimmel also joked about how Trump responded to the killing.

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.”

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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.”

Kimmel has not publicly commented since his suspension, and the future of his show remains unclear.

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Cruz said on his podcast that he had been mocked by Kimmel on air“so many times I cannot count” and that he hated Kimmel's comments about Kirk. He said he was thrilled that Kimmel's show had gone dark, but not that it resulted from government pressure.

We shouldn't be threatening government power to force him off air.

“We shouldn't be threatening government power to force him off air,” Cruz said.“It might feel good right now to threaten Jimmy Kimmel, but when it is used to silence every conservative in America, we will regret it.”

(With inputs from Reuters)

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