The Federal Communications Commission is supposed to be an independent government agency that “regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories.”

But it’s pretty clear that under FCC chair Brendan Carr, the agency has been acting on behalf of President Donald Trump through threats and actions against network programming that Trump doesn’t like.

Carr threatened ABC over comments Jimmy Kimmel made in a monologue about the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The FCC is looking into whether ABC’s “The View” is subject to the equal-time rule for politicians. And, most notably, the FCC is taking the highly unusual step of forcing ABC to apply early to renew eight local broadcast licenses.

Carr has been asked about his communications with the White House, but he told Politico’s Dasha Burns, “As a general matter, I don’t speak publicly about conversations with the White House, or whether they happen or don’t happen.”

Oh, they apparently happen all right. According to a trove of FCC documents — obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request and a lawsuit filed by the advocacy group Democracy Forward, and provided to The Guardian — such conversations happen a lot.

The Guardian’s Jeremy Barr writes, “Between 12 March 2025 and 11 February 2026, Carr attended at least eight meetings at the White House, according to the records, and had at least three scheduled calls with administration officials, including two conversations with the chief of staff, Susie Wiles. He also spoke by phone with administration officials such as the controversial health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr.”

Barr writes, “In addition, the files provide insight into Carr’s media strategy, including communications with producers at Fox News, and make public previously undisclosed meetings he has held with media titans such as the Fox Corp chief executive, Lachlan Murdoch, and Sinclair Broadcast Group chair, David Smith.”

Sadly, none of this is surprising. But it is disturbing.

Dan McGrath, special counsel for oversight at Democracy Forward, said, “This raises serious questions about whether the FCC is operating as an independent regulator, or whether political relationships and industry influence have become too intertwined with its decision-making.”

Barr writes, “While it’s not uncommon for FCC chairs appointed by a president of their party to meet and confer with the administration, Carr is known to be unusually in sync with the priorities of the Trump White House, particularly with its focus on using the levers of government to punish the legacy television networks that Trump has derided as fake news.”