The argument that NBC isn't licensed is a red herring. Don't fall for it.

For some reason, I see lots of posts here and elsewhere mocking Trump for suggesting that NBC's license should be revoked. After all, NBC does not need or have a "license" to operate as a broadcast network. But don't be fooled. It is a red herring.

NBC owns TV stations that have licenses. Lots of TV stations. And those stations' licenses can be challenged on the basis of what NBC does. Moreover, individual stations that are affiliated with NBC are not insulated from challenge because the content they originate comes from the NBC network -- stations are held responsible for what they put on the air no matter what the source.

I've been practicing law before the FCC for almost 40 years. The first broadcast license case I worked on was the RKO General case, which began in the mid 1960s and carried over until the early 1980s (which is when I worked on it). RKO ended up losing a station license (and was on the verge of losing other licenses when it sold its stations) for a variety of misdeeds that supported the conclusion that it lacked the "character" to hold a broadcast license. Some of those misdeeds related to the conduct of its broadcast business, such as deceptive, anticompetitive practices, and, most importantly, a lack of candor in its dealings with the FCC. But also cited at various points in the proceedings was misconduct committed by RKO's parent, General Tire, that were unrelated to the broadcast business, such as bribing foreign officials.

So while it may seem like a "gotcha" to point out that the NBC "network" isn't licensed, I can guarantee that NBC understands the nature of Trump's threat and doesn't shrug it off because the network doesn't have a license -- not when their stations, and the stations that broadcast their programming, could be targeted based on what NBC does or doesn't do.

That being said, there is no way the FCC is going to act as the "truth" arbiter in a challenge to the licenses held by NBC or by its affiliated stations. As the Supreme Court stated way back in 1974: "A responsible press is an undoubtedly desirable goal, but press responsibility is not mandated by the Constitution, and, like many other virtues, it cannot be legislated." And while broadcast stations historically haven't had the same unfettered first amendment protection given the print media, those distinctions are falling away in the era of digital, Internet communications.