'Don’t want to be here either': Judge shades Trump admin at Disney hearing

A federal judge seemed to not-so-subtly jab at the Trump administration during a hearing this week, according to a Wall Street Journal reporter, agreeing with the opposing lawyer that she did not "want to be here either."

The Walt Disney Company is currently suing President Donald Trump's FCC to block its attempt to subject its local TV stations to an unusually early review, which the company alleges is part of a retaliatory effort that violates its free speech rights. Trump has repeatedly demanded the firing of ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel for his anti-Trump stances and punchlines, and attacked its popular daytime program, The View, for having a supposedly liberal bias. His handpicked FCC Chair, Brendan Carr, has gone along with these attacks and led the charge against ABC.

Both sides of the suit were back in court Tuesday morning in Washington D.C., as the case moved forward. U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan, a Joe Biden appointee, is overseeing the case, and as WSJ's media reporter Joe Flint noted in a post about the hearing, did not seem to be happy about.

On X, Flint shared a telling exchange between the Disney legal team and the judge.

"We don’t want to be here," Disney attorney Beth Wilkinson said.

"I don’t want to be here either," AliKhan responded.

In another post later, Flint summed up the arguments from each side in the early hearing.

"Hearing in a nutshell: Disney argues the administration is using the FCC and threat of losing ABC broadcast licenses to attack free speech," Flint explained. "FCC argues U.S. District Court doesn't have jurisdiction here and ABC trying to circumvent regulatory process."

AliKhan previously denied Disney's motion to request an expedited trial, sparking concerns that she might rule favorably towards the FCC. However, a piece from the Radio+Television Business Report suggested that such a move "is exactly what gives Disney/ABC attorneys the upper hand — and puts Brendan Carr on notice that the Commission should not do anything too soon."

"The FCC reacted to AliKhan’s rebuff of an expedited hearing schedule by noting it was pleased the judge rejected 'Disney’s meritless attempt to rush into court,'" the report detailed. "However, by midday Friday multiple legal experts in Washington had contacted RBR+TVBR to state that AliKhan’s order is effectively a [temporary restraining order], and that a preliminary injunction is very much in her sights. Thus, they opine, AliKhan did not deliver 'Round 1 to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr' as former ACA Connects public relations head turned D.C. wonk Ted Hearn stated in his Policyband blog on Friday."

AliKhan previously ruled that the FCC cannot move ahead with its station reviews while the lawsuit is ongoing.