Former Republican FCC Chairman Al Sikes and former Democratic Commissioner Ervin Duggan filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to order the FCC to act on a 17-month-old application challenging the renewal of a Fox station license. They argue the Commission's inaction is part of a pattern of shielding significant decisions from judicial review by relying on unreviewable staff-level actions at the Chairman's direction. The brief supports the Media and Democracy Project's petition for a writ of mandamus, contending that the FCC is operating with a bare quorum of three commissioners instead of the intended five-member bipartisan body. Sikes and Duggan, both appointed by President George H.W. Bush, say the public deserves an answer on whether the licensee meets character requirements.
Fox Corp Class AFormer FCC leaders filed a brief urging court action on a license renewal challenge, threatening Fox's station license.