The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is seeking to have a lawsuit thrown out that was brought by Disney and ABC over the agency’s efforts to call for several of the network’s TV stations for early license renewal. 

The agency’s court filing, which was revealed Thursday, argued that Disney’s lawsuit would obstruct the FCC investigation into the network’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hiring policies, according to The Hill. 

“This would only hobble the Commission’s efforts to investigate and resolve serious allegations that Disney has engaged in unlawful discrimination, and from otherwise ensuring that Disney’s stations are serving the public interest,” the FCC wrote in its filing. “Plaintiffs, in return, would only free themselves from the burdens of proving their case in administrative proceedings.”  

This follows action by the FCC in April to begin early reviews of the broadcast licenses of ABC-owned stations in eight local markets. Individual local stations receive broadcast licenses, while the networks themselves do not. The station licenses requested for early reviews were those in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, New York, Chicago and Philadelphia, as well as Fresno, California, and Durham, North Carolina. Their licenses were initially slated to come up for renewal between 2028 and 2031.

Disney sued the FCC in August, arguing that the Trump administration, in calling for the early reviews, was attempting to censor journalists.