President Donald Trump suggested pulling NBC News’ broadcast license on Tuesday over the network’s shoddy handling of the Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct story.
NBC News chairman Andy Lack sent a memo to staff on Monday explaining why his network did not publish Ronan Farrow’s Weinstein expose last fall. Farrow said Lack’s memo was full of “false or misleading statements” and accused NBC News of trying to stop his reporting. (RELATED: Ronan Farrow Breaks His Silence, Responds To NBC Allegations)
Trump said that the way NBC News tried to kill the Weinstein investigation proves that they are “worse than even CNN.”
“NBC FAKE NEWS, which is under intense scrutiny over their killing the Harvey Weinstein story, is now fumbling around making excuses for their probably highly unethical conduct,” Trump tweeted. “I have long criticized NBC and their journalistic standards-worse than even CNN.”
“Look at their license?” Trump asked.
NBC FAKE NEWS, which is under intense scrutiny over their killing the Harvey Weinstein story, is now fumbling around making excuses for their probably highly unethical conduct. I have long criticized NBC and their journalistic standards-worse than even CNN. Look at their license?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 4, 2018
Trump previously suggested revoking NBC’s license last fall. Andrew Schwartzman, a communications lawyer with the Institute for Public Representation at Georgetown University Law Center, told POLITICO at the time that a network would really only have to worry about a challenge to their license if they were convicted of a felony.