Watchdog: FCC chair authorized leak before internet subsidy vote

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorized staffers to leak information in the hours before a controversial March vote, a watchdog said in a memo released on Thursday.

But the investigation by the agency’s inspector general turned up “no evidence that the information was provided to the press in an attempt to unduly influence the outcome of the vote” and found Chairman Tom Wheeler had acted within his legal authority.

{mosads}The investigation focused on the aftermath of the controversial vote in March to expand the Lifeline subsidy program for low-income Americans to cover broadband. In the past, it has simply been used for phone service.

Republican commissioners reached a deal with Democrat Mignon Clyburn before the committee’s March open meeting that would have capped the program’s budget. But the meeting was delayed multiple times as details of the deal leaked to the press.

Clyburn ultimately voted for a version of the item without a cap, as proposed by Chairman Tom Wheeler.

Critics have focused on a Politico report that included leaked details on the compromise and the proposed $2 billion budget cap. Later reports echo these details.

They allege that the details may have been leaked to increase pressure on Clyburn, since many groups and lawmakers opposed the cap. Critics, on the other hand, say the Lifeline program is an example of a government program run amuck.

“The events surrounding the March 31st Commission vote adopting the Lifeline Order, while not unprecedented in their entirety, were certainly unusual,” an investigator said in a memo released by the Republican majority of the Senate Commerce Committee. “Typically, commissioners do not engage in negotiations resulting in significant policy shifts in the final hours prior to a Commission vote.”

“Thus, while such activity is not improper or illegal, the rarity of the occurrence explains in large measure the interest, speculation and concern the matter has generated.”

The office of the FCC’s Inspector General found that Wheeler authorized leaks of “high level details” about the compromise to the press, according to the memo. An official told the watchdog that they sought the authorization in order to release accurate information in light of rumors about the deal.

A top aide in the agency’s media relations office chose to leak the information to a reporter with Politico, according to the report, but Wheeler adviser Gigi Sohn did not reveal the monetary amount of the budget cap to the reporter. She did tell the reporter that there was a compromise on the table and that the meeting was being delayed.

The Inspector General’s office said it had not been able to determine “with certainty” who leaked the value of the $2 billion cap to Politico. It was also unable to say who had provided details of the compromise to a reporter at Broadcasting and Cable.

The reporters for both publications declined to identify their sources to investigators, according to the report.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) said in a statement that the report showed “dysfunction” at the agency.

“The findings by the inspector general reveal significant dysfunction and a lack of transparency at the FCC,” he said. “Under the agency’s current interpretation, the FCC chairman is free to leak cherry-picked details about proceedings and deliberations while other commissioners are gagged and even kept in the dark about decisions by the chairman to approve such leaks.

“Worse yet, the FCC is not keeping a record of decisions by the chairman to disclose non-public information.”

Wheeler’s office sought to downplay the report’s findings.

“The IG report found that the Chairman properly used his authority to make public certain information about the changing state of play regarding the Lifeline Order,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

“The report also found that he did so in response to intense media interest in the item and to ensure accurate information was being reported, not to improperly influence another Commissioner as has been alleged.”

This story was updated at 6:03 p.m.