 |
| President Chastises Mary Bruce and ABC News |
President Donald Trump called for the FCC to revoke ABC News’ broadcast license Tuesday, erupting at chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce for asking why he has not personally released the Jeffrey Epstein files despite repeated campaign promises to do so.
The extraordinary threat came during an Oval Office appearance with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman when Bruce asked Trump: “Why wait for Congress? Why not just release the Epstein files now?”
Trump did not answer the question. Instead, he called Bruce “a terrible person and a terrible reporter,” accused ABC of sending her in with a “bad attitude,” then demanded that FCC Chairman Brendan Carr “look at” stripping the network’s license for what he called “fake” reporting.
The outburst marked the second time in a week Trump has publicly threatened a major news outlet’s license and came just hours before the House passed bipartisan legislation forcing the Justice Department to turn over more than 100,000 pages of Epstein investigative records.
Key facts:
- Trump and JD Vance promised during the 2024 campaign to declassify Epstein, JFK, and 9/11 files on “Day One.”
- The administration has delayed release, citing ongoing FBI and DOJ review under Attorney General Pam Bondi.
- Newly disclosed Epstein emails include references to Trump; flight logs show Trump flew on Epstein’s plane seven times in the 1990s, though he denies ever visiting the island.
- Trump banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago in 2007 after an alleged incident and has repeatedly called the issue a “Democratic hoax.”
Bruce also drew Trump’s anger earlier in the exchange by asking the Saudi crown prince about the 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi, prompting Trump to cut her off and accuse ABC of “psyching her up.”
White House reporters and press-freedom advocates immediately condemned the license threat as an authoritarian attack on the First Amendment. ABC News declined to comment. The FCC has not indicated it will take any action; legal experts say revoking a license for news content is virtually unprecedented and almost certainly unconstitutional.
The confrontation underscored escalating tensions between Trump and mainstream media outlets as pressure mounts for full disclosure of Epstein’s government-held records.