Oldsouljer said:I believe that is correct although the specific statutes don't come to mind. I imagine sections pertaining to election interference or unreported campaign in-kind contributions (on the part of the networks). That said, a lot of things are illegal but are not necessarily enforced in an even-handed manner these days or so it seems, thus who can say how such an ad will be disposed of by a news network?Civilized said:TheStorm said:
^ Will never get broadcast on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN or MSNBC.
That's illegal and you'd hear Trump's campaign screaming from the rooftops if their ads got refused by any stations.
It's the Communications Act of 1934, with various amendments throughout the years.
Re: illegal but not necessarily enforced, this statute could well be the b-ball palming call of FCC-governed communications laws in normal times but to be damn sure you'd hear Trump's team using such behavior by left-leaning networks as a clear campaign opportunity, and rightfully so.
As much as Trump hates traditional media and as much as he's been called to task for potentially illegal behavior and as much of an opp for good publicity as it would be, his campaign would never live down such misbehavior by left-leaning networks.
Basically there is zero incentive for networks to try to break this law. If they break it and potentially get investigated and punished and also suffer the associated PR nightmare, AND all that would only serve to help strengthen Trump's campaign.